Shingeki no OC : Our story
by CaptSpeed
Summary: After 100 years of peace, Wall Maria has been breached. Once more, humanity has to fight back against the Titans. It'll be a hard journey. Join our heroes in their fight for freedom.
1. AN - Character Guidebook

******A/N:** Hey guys!  


**As I promised to some of you, here it is the full list of characters that I've accepted so far.  
**

* * *

**Trainees:**

**1 – Richard Krieg – CaptSpeed**

Birthday: August 3rd

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 177 cm – Weight: 61 kg

**2 – Xin Tien – visceraEffect**

Birthday: September 22nd

Age after graduation: 18 years old

Height: 171 cm – Weight: 65 kg

**3 – Cay Endersen – PreciousCow**

Birthday: March 5th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 183 cm – Weight: 83 kg

**4 – Aksel Iversen – The Pocketwatch Ripper**

Birthday: September 19th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 179 cm – Weight: 71 kg

**5 – Antonio Rodrigues – crankiestnebula**

Birthday: October 19th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 183 cm – Weight: 79 kg

**6 – Elisa Peters – visceraEffect**

Birthday: December 28th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 171 cm – Weight: 64 kg

**7 – Jeorge Adalia – RagingKoopatroopa**

Birthday: July 14th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 193 cm – Weight: 82 kg

**8 – Cain Murrik – RagingKoopatroopa**

Birthday: April 4th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 177 cm – Weight: 62 kg

**9 – Iosif Blanchett – SerahRose-chan**

Birthday: May 14th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 192 cm – Weight: 90 kg

**10 – Emelia Orr – Emeliaaaaa1133**

Birthday: May 14th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 152 cm – Weight: 51 kg

**11 – Rosaline Nash – GhostWriterShadow**

Birthday: May 5th

Age after graduation: 19 years old

Height: 185 cm – Weight: 75 kg

**12 – Asta – Cerily**

Birthday: November 6th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 175 cm – Weight: 81 kg

**13 – Kaspar Bauer – Cerily**

Birthday: February 7th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 185 cm – Weight: 95 kg

**14 – Samuel Windle – Pixpi**

Birthday: April 29th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 155 cm – Weight: 48 kg

**15 – Jessica – Hilinarema**

Birthday: June 6th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 163 cm – Weight: 54 kg

**16 – Alberto Mejia – jorge25**

Birthday: October 5th

Age after graduation: 17 years old

Height: 175 cm – Weight: 70 kg

**17 – Alina Adler – WinterDragonGirl**

Birthday: January 2nd

Age after graduation: 15 years old

Height: 168 cm – Weight: 45 kg

**18 – Emma Muller – Cerily and davincii  
**

Birthday: March 20th

Age after graduation: 16 years old

Height: 154 cm – Weight: 55 kg

**Staff / Older OCs:**

**1 – Albert Schmidt – Hell Devil 13**

Birthday: March 13th

Age after graduation: 22 years old

Height: 180 cm – Weight: 76 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**2 – Christoph Weiss – visceraEffect**

Birthday: April 19th

Age after graduation: 26 years old

Height: 176 cm – Weight: 76 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**3 – Luca Reinmayr** **– The Pocketwatch Ripper**

Birthday: January 5th

Age after graduation: 23 years old

Height: 185 cm – Weight: 81 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**4 – Danika Horton – Hilinarema**

Birthday: September 3rd

Age after graduation: 23 years old

Height: 180 cm – Weight: 60 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**5 – Tia Ealdwine – PreciousCow**

Birthday: July 14th

Age after graduation: 26 years old

Height: 152 cm – Weight: 60 kg

Military Organization: Military Police

**6 – Melda Asker – The Pocketwatch Ripper**

Birthday: November 18th

Age after graduation: 32 years old

Height: 191 cm – Weight: 93 kg

Military Organization: Ex-Scouting Legion – Instructor

**7 – Liese Amsel – Cerily**

Birthday: September 12th

Age after graduation: 37 years old

Height: 177 cm – Weight: 80 kg

Military Organization: Military Police

**8 – Kai Kappel – Cerily**

Birthday: April 3rd

Age after graduation: 29 years old

Height: 190 cm – Weight: 86 kg

Military Organization: Military Police – Scouting Legion

**9 – Kurt Kappel – Cerily**

Birthday: April 3rd

Age after graduation: 29 years old

Height: 168 cm – Weight: 77 kg

Military Organization: Military Police – Garrison

**10 – Lutz – Cerily**

Birthday: August 25th

Age after graduation: 35 years old

Height: 170 cm – Weight: 78 kg

Military Organization: Military Police

**11 – Emily Lantsov – ****PetraRal7853**

Birthday: May 22nd

Age after graduation: 22 years old

Height: 152 cm – Weight: 55 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**12 – Benedikt Barabash – SerahRose-chan**

Birthday: November 2nd

Age after graduation: 35 years old

Height: 175 cm – Weight: 78 kg

Military Organization: Garrison

**13 – Simon – davincii**

Birthday: December 22nd

Age after graduation: 24 years old

Height: 162 cm – Weight: 65 kg

Military Organization: Garrison

**14 – Fabio Gerardi – ****Tatopatato**

Birthday: September 1st

Age after graduation: 23 years old

Height: 192 cm – Weight: 90 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**15 – Rosalia Derriks – ****Pikapikaluv**

Birthday: May 7th

Age after graduation: 24 years old

Height: 158 cm – Weight: 61 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

**16 – Cooper eve Gillespie – Ignis eve**

Birthday: March 26th

Age after graduation: 24 years old

Height: 172 cm – Weight: 56 kg

Military Organization: Scouting Legion

* * *

**_Last edited: 4/6/2014_**


	2. AN - Character Sheet and Rules

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin or its awesome characters.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey fellow readers! Lately I've been inspired to create a story about SnK with _OC_ characters. My inspiration resulted from my fondness for this series and from reading the work of Akito54, Dancing bears, AuthenticTokyo and other _OCs_ authors so, I want to give them the deserved credits.

I want to create a story where the readers/creators of the _OCs_ get to decide what happens with the relations between the characters, the main events, who dies, _etc._, developing an interactive environment with you guys.

This fanfiction is open to your suggestions, since it's based in my/your _OCs_ fighting back for humanity, reclaiming the walls, killing some Titans and all that cool stuff.

So, I'm here to ask you guys for your help and to be patient with me, because this is my time writing in English and it's going to be a challenge for me, since it's not my main language. I will also try my best to get all the right details from the series, either through research, reading the manga, watching the anime again or asking you guys through the author notes/_PMs_ for suggestions.

That being said I'll accept your reviews and opinions about what I should or should not do.

This story is taking place during the current storyline, but no canon characters will exist. Despite this, changes on the main plot/events can be discussed.

Therefore I'm going to accept applications for the characters that play the role of **Titan Shifters** (to be on the side of humanity, or not) and shall also accept **Trainees**, an **instructor** for our squad, **head figures **for the three organizations (important figures like commanders/chiefs like Erwin, Dot Pixis and Nile Dok from the manga/anime) and at least one **squad leader for the Survey Corps** (like Levi or Hange from the manga/anime).

* * *

**Rules to participate:**

- Send me your applications through PM or else I'll have to ignore it;

- You can send more than one _OC_;

- I'm thinking to accept around 15-20 characters, having at least 5 as main ones. Maybe I'll focus on a trio of main characters, like in SnK. For those 3 _OCs_ I'll make an epilogue explaining their background. The rest will have flashback moments during the story;

- I'll be looking for 3 Commanders for the military organizations. I'll also need some characters that would like to join Garrison or the Military Police.

- I will choose the main cast based on the quality of your characters;

- Please, try not to base your _OC_ too much on the originals;

- I'll need some OCs to play the roles of the Titan Shifters agains't humanity;

- Don't make your _OC_ too over skilled, of course there's going to be some that stand out, but I don't want everyone to be a killing machine;

- Be descriptive with your character, especially in their appearance, background story and personality.

- This is a SnK story so, there will be _OCs_ that might end up dying. I will ask everyone that submits one if they would be alright with their character dying. You can refuse if you don't want that, it's your _OC_. But keep mind that some have to die, SnK doesn't have the happiest scenarios.

- After I get the main plot to this story, I'll still be accepting more _OCs_, but as a minors characters they might end up being killed or their status will be unknown after completing their roles in the story;

- Canon characters do not exist, and some events will still be played exactly as in the main storyline. However, the plot can change if we agree to do so (via _PM_, polls, reviews, _etc._);

- Despite the freedom to give your opinions and to participate in the story, sometimes, I can disagree with you. I'll try to make everyone happy, but you will have to respect my decisions as the author;

* * *

**OC Sheet** (inspired by those three authors mentioned before):

**Name:** (Make the name related to the character ethnicity)

**Nickname: **(Optional)

**Age:** (Everyone with 15-18 will be part of the Trainee Squad; anyone over the limit will be a member of one of the three Organizations)

**Gender:**

**Birthday:** (_MM/DD_)

**Sexuality:**

**Military Organization:** (Survey Corps, Military Police, Stationary Guard/Garrison; if you're still in Training Camp, this will be the organization that you will join by the end of it)

**Background**

**History: **(Be descriptive here. I need you to focus especially in _how_ and _where_ did your character lived until the first breach on the Wall and what happened to him/her that day. It's SnK so, I expect to see a lot of dark pasts. If your character is already in one of the Organizations please enlighten me how it happened)

**Family: **(Name, age, status (alive/dead), occupation, opinion on the Titans)

**Personality: **(Be descriptive)

**Appearance**

**Height/Weight:**

**Skin Complexion: **(Fair, dark, white, _etc._)

**Body Type: **(Muscular, lean, average, fat, skinny, athletic, smooth (if you are a woman and don't like to look to muscular with abs and all that stuff); All soldiers should at least be lean or athletic)

**Breast Size: **(Skip if you're a male)

**Eye Color: **

**Hairstyle & Color: **(Make it as natural as possible)

**Scars/Marks/Tattoos/Piercings:** (Optional, especially the tattoos and the piercings since it seems too advanced for the storyline give me your opinion)

**How do you wear your uniform?: **(Does it differ from the rest of the group? Underneath the uniform do you use a sweater like Annie? What color is the shirt?)

**Relaxation Clothing: **(Everyone won't wear their uniform all day. In the manga/anime, during meal time, characters use their normal clothing. Keep in mind this is an old time series so, no modern day clothing)

**Special Items: **(Optional. Items that were given to you by family/friends, a good luck charm, _etc._)

**Misc**

**Strengths/Weaknesses:** (3 to each one, nothing too _OP_ please!)

**Talents: **(Optional)

**Likes/Dislikes: **(3 to each one)

**Fears:**

**Habits:**

**Quotes: **(Optional)

**Love Interest: **(Optional - not everyone will be chosen to have romantic relationships. What type of person does your _OC_ likes, or if they already got someone in mind; this can be discussed later after the announcement of the characters)

**Titan Shifter **

(This application part is only for Titan Shifter OCs)

**Height:**

**Appearance:** (Nothing too extravagant)

**Special ability: **(Nothing too _OP_)

**Humanity's side/Other?: **(If you stand against humanity, there's no need to go into detail about the reason behind it right now, since in the manga/anime this is still one of the mysteries going on)

**Military information**

(This is only for characters that make part of one faction)

**Rank:** (Commander, instructor of the Trainees Squad, squad leader)

**How many Titan kills? Team and Alone:**

**Opinions about the other two factions:**

**Details involving the story**

**What is the relationship of your character with others?: **(This will be necessary after the announcement of the main plot. If you don't want to participate in this part, I'll judge your character based in what you gave me)

**Ideas of what will happen to your character for the story: **(It's optional, but highly helpful)

**How would you want your character to die: **(We'll go over this in detail more later if your character is one of the unlucky)

**Abilities/Statistics (1- lowly skilled, 10- highly skilled and tell why):  
**

**3D Maneuvering Gear:  
**

**Intelligence:  
**

**Martial Arts:  
**

**Battle Skill:  
**

**Agility:  
**

**Strategy:  
**

**Teamwork:  
**

**Passion/Will to fight:**

**Horse Ridding:**

**Physical Strength: **


	3. AN - Still looking for OCs (outdated)

**A/N: Hey guys I'm back with an urgent update! I still need some important roles to be filled, so that I can start the story.  
**

**I'll be posting another teaser soon, don't worry it'll be the last. Why I'm not starting the story yet you ask? Cuz' I still missing characters for the following roles: **

**- More original designs for Titan Shifters and at least two that have enough physical power or a good ability to break into Wall Maria and Wall Rose. If you just want to make an OC that would play the role of the Colossal or Armored Titan send it to me anyways, I'll decide what to do – URGENT – **

**- I'm still accepting commanders for the three military organizations.**

**- I'm open to suggestions for the Instructor as well. I don't need much information on his/her background story, just enough detail in the OC personality to make an awesome character.**

**- An OP trainee, yeah I said it! You have my permission to exaggerate now xD I said I wouldn't like to have a bunch of Mikasa's but I still need a good number one for my Top 10. I'll pick the best one and send the rest will become a normal Trainee.**

**- More Trainees cuz' this is SnK and I need a decent number of characters before I start the Training Camp. Especially females since I only got submitted about 4/5! But I'm okay with boys too. And I'd love to receive some characters who'd like to join Garrison or the Military Police (I'm full with so many Recon 'wannabes'). **

* * *

**There will be a change in the sheet as well. Please guys check it out in chapter 1; it's the Abilities/Statistics part.**

* * *

**For those who submitted Trainees if you're reading this please fill your characters Statistics and send them to me. I need organize the Trainee for the Top 10.**

**After the release of the Teaser, hopefully, I'll have enough Trainees to start the Training Camp Arc. **

**I'm counting on your participation guys! Send me a PM if you're interested in making an OC and I'll send you the sheet.**


	4. Teaser - Richard's presentation

**A/N: Hello guys Happy Easter to you all! I wanted to post an update yesterday, but I had things to do and unfortunately I couldn't make it in time.**

**I already have 4 characters sent to me, but I still need more. I still don't have OCs for the roles of Commanders, Squad leaders, Titan shifters, an instructor for the Training Camp and a few more recruits.**

**With that said I present to you a character that I created, inspired on characters like Lelouch and Taichi (from Code Geas and Digimon).**

**At the end of this short chapter, the first recruit sent to me will also make an appearance. Her name is Xin and was created by visceraEffect.**

**I hope you enjoy and gain inspiration to create more OCs for this story.**

**Give me your opinion on this main OC that I created and tell me what you think about the way that I wrote this epilogue. Please, don't forget to send me some OCs, this is supposed to be a story where you guys participate.**

* * *

**-A few years back-**

"Richard, stop hiding, it's bedtime!" A young mother yelled while looking around the kitchen for her son. "I know you're here in the kitchen, perhaps under the table?" She bent down to look under the table, but Richard was not there. All she could hear was the echo of a soft laugh that came from inside of one of the kitchen cabinets.

"I can't believe you're hidden inside the kitchen cabinet again," the mother said jokingly. She could hear the laughter increasing now. She smiled softly at hearing the happiness of her child. He was always a jolly boy with a great sense of humor.

She became serious before opening the cabinet doors. "There you are, funny boy!" The boy was covering his face, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"I don't want to go to bed now!" The boy, Richard, said as he pouted. "Father said he couldn't tell me a story about his adventures in Scouting Legion today 'cause he was busy." His laughter had died down into a sad expression.

"So I'll wait until he's not busy. Unless you want to tell me a story about the Titans...?" Richard asked his mom, eyes sparkling with curiosity. He was always curious about the origin of the Titans, monsters that patrolled outside the Walls. Everyone was always afraid of them and barely mentioned them in normal conversations; the topic seemed taboo.

His mother sighed. "Richard, now is not the time to talk about it. You're still very young. Look at you, ten years old and already asking about adult things! You should take the opportunity to play with your friends instead of worrying about these monsters." Her words were friendly, but they had a sharp edge to them. "I promise I'll tell you what I know in about 1 or 2 years."

The boy sighed in defeat, his figure slumping slightly. "Okay, Mom, but don't forget. You promised me." He clambered out of the cabinet and followed his mother.

"At least tell me and Sophie a story about the world outside the Walls," the boy complained to his mother as they climbed the stairs. With an exasperated but amused smile on her face, the woman nodded. To this, Richard bounded up the rest of the stairs and into the room that he and his little sister shared.

"Come on mom, hurry up!" Richard exclaimed as he sat at the bottom of the bed with his equally excited sister.

Turning to her, the boy whispered, "Sophie, Mom's gonna tell us a story about the world outside the Walls!"

At first, both of them listened attentively as their mother spun a tale of green fields far as the eye could see. The clouds were white and fluffy, the air was clean and fresh, and there were animals and brightly colored flowers that didn't exist inside the Walls. Midway through the story, Sophie had fallen asleep, her hair strewn over her face haphazardly, hands curled around Richard's arm.

The young mother noticed her sleeping child and murmured, "And that's all for today. Your sister is already asleep so you should do the same." Rising from the corner of the bed, Richard's mom walked over and pressed a kiss to her son's forehead. "Good night, Richard."

"Good night, Mom," the kid said sleepily.

Before closing his eyes, Richard passed the kiss to his younger sister and said, "I promise you that one day I will defeat the Titans and I will take you to explore the world outside the Walls."

Richard never broke his promises and this was the one that would change his life forever.

* * *

The Military Police had accounts for every person within the Walls. Birth certificates lined the walls, covering shelves that stretched from the ceiling to the floor.

Richard Krieg was not an exception.

A man pulled out the form, his brows furrowing. He flipped through the information, useless information. Tanned skin, brown hair and amber eyes, he didn't need this. The picture slipped into the folder was always updated every two years. But Richard's hairstyle never really changed; he constantly had a military undercut with a styled fringe.

The Krieg family of German ancestry was always the rich kind. Members of the family were always in higher posts within one of the three military organizations. Privileges were extended to these kinds of families, as they were few and far between. They lived in Mitras, an area of land inside Wall Sina, the capital of the city. The man flipped the page over, eyes skimming the typed words.

Friendly, playful, a brief description of the personality that fit the picture. The man snorted at the words of kind and generous towards others. Those qualities were rare now, seeing as supplies were dwindling even inside Wall Sina. However, the skeptical expression faded as the man read further: bossy, self-centered and control-seeking. A satisfied smile crossed his face. Those were the attributes that mankind now had in the hard times of living inside the Walls.

The next page had information about his family, although each of them had their separate pages. His father, Josef, the former commander of the Scouting Legion, was now a military advisor. However, information collected between them was sparse, indicating an unstable relationship. The man scratched his head, then concluded that he wasn't home a lot of the time.

Josef had married a woman named Claire, a teacher in Mitras that lectured about the origin of Titans and the world outside. A small footnote scrawled in the corner read that she didn't want her son to join the Legion in fear of losing him. The man hid a bark of laughter at those words; Richard would obviously wind up in the Training Camp, then in the Scouting Legion, and then perhaps dead on the battlefield. Claire would be distraught, but so would the little sister of the family, the man mused.

Sophie, in her own little section, was the younger sister to Richard Krieg. Her section lacked the information of the other members of the family, but one piece of information piqued the man's interest: He will do anything for her. Promised her that he would help humanity attain freedom and then travel with her to explore the world outside the Walls.

"Lofty ambitions, this son of a rich man." the man scoffed, his slight movements stretching the Scouting Legion outfit he wore.

The man flipped back to Richard's page. Height, weight, all of it was listed. 177 cm, 61 kg, a routine of jogging and attending lessons taught by his mother, these things were all rather irrelevant to the man. But the Taekwondo classes meant that he was at least somewhat prepared for the Training Camp. A small side note read that he didn't want to look bad in front of the others.

The man's eyes almost scanned past the words that were the most relevant to him.

Mother and sister have tried to convince him that he doesn't need to fight. Holds onto the fact that he wants to prove himself to father and to fulfill promise made to sister.

The man grinned. Bingo. He had big plans for this Richard Krieg.

* * *

**Richard's POV**

It seemed like a regular, lazy day. I was walking home when I heard a large commotion: the city bells had began to ring. At first I thought it was the Scouting Legion coming back from one of their expeditions, but everything I heard and saw were from military personnel running toward the gate of Wall Sina.

I did the same. I ran as fast as I could to find out what was going on. A sense of dread shocked my system at seeing the peace interrupted.

When I got there, all I saw were paralyzed men and panicked men, talking among each other.

My curiosity got the better of me and I tapped a man in a Military Police outfit, asking, "Hey! Excuse me! What's happening?"

The soldier looked at me sideways and replied with disgust, "Get out of here, you little kid, this isn't a matter for children."

I gritted my teeth, containing the anger I was feeling. I never liked the members; they always abused their authority and pretended to be higher-ranking than they were.

I looked at the man again and said now with a serious tone, "Hey buddy, you're talking to a Krieg. Use the manners taught to you by your mother, unless you want to be fired from your job."

The man froze, which made him look like a deer in headlights, then quickly apologized. Brushing off his previous snark, I made a sign with my hand for him to answer me.

"Wall Maria has been breached. Shiganshina has been occupied by Titans!" He paused to breathe. "Almost everyone was killed. The few who managed to escape have taken refuge within Wall Rose."

My fists clenched when I heard this. I knew that one day this could happen, after all we live surrounded by monsters and our only protection against them are the Walls, I thought bitterly.

In a daze, I went home and packed my bag. Mom was looking at me with sad, knowing eyes, but I ignored her. I changed into my casual clothes, a black shirt and beige pants and pulled on my brown boots. I was ready. I knew there was no turning back. I had to enroll in the military and help humanity. The Titans were coming.

From the doorway, Mom and Sophie were hanging, tears in their eyes. I didn't want to see them cry, so I looked at the floor. I didn't want to regret my decision. The stinging in my nose hit me full force as I was trying to speak, "Mom, Sis... I have to go..."

Mom sighed, stepping into the room, Sophie clinging onto her dress. "Your father told me to give you this when you decided to join the Training Camp. Here," she said as she placed a crucifix around my neck and fastened the latch. The necklace was a family heirloom, something more solid that made the Krieg family the Kriegs.

I looked at my sister and saw that she was holding onto a tiny bandanna tightly. She came to me and said with a faint, sorrowful smile, "I know you don't like to mess up your hair, big brother, so I made this with Mom for your arm. It's a good luck charm..."

Gingerly, I took the red bandanna from her and tied it onto my arm. "It's perfect, Sophie. Thank you so much. I already feel super lucky." I said the right words, because her smile grew wider and she ran to hug me.

I motioned for Mom to join in so I could hug them both. Upon separating, I said, "I'll be back, I promise to keep you safe. See you soon! Send a hug to Dad."

And with that I left home to begin my adventure.

* * *

The grounds of the Training Camp looked exactly as I imagined it to be.

_"Well, here I am"_ My inner voice drawled. Learning about Titans and learning how to fight them. _"I already know all of these things, so it'll be so boring..."_ The pessimism was making my shoulders droop unconsciously, but I straightened up with a scowl. _"I can't be lazy! C'mon, Richard, you gotta do this!"_

My inner scolding helped me get into action and I looked around, staring at a large group of people around my age. Their faces reflected fear, while the others looked distant.

_"God, they must've gone through hell. Can't even imagine..."_ I thought, analyzing the people around me. _"If they're like this, how will they react if they find out I'm a higher-class family? Are they gonna accept me, or judge me?"_ My nerves spiked up and I felt my palms getting sweaty.

My thoughts and my stride were interrupted with me bumping into a girl with an Oriental looking face.

Light tan skin, dark brown hair and eyes, her bangs were the weirdest part of her: although the right side was fine, the left side of it was almost shaved off, tufts of hair sticking out awkwardly. She looked like all the others; her hair pulled into a ponytail and she wore a plain white blouse and beige drawstring pants.

"Sorry, I was distracted and didn't see you," I said as I looked at her. She had a small stone in her hand and was rubbing it. _"She must be anxious..."_

I held my closed fist toward her with a hopefully friendly smile, waiting for her to do the same against my fist as a greeting. Fist bumps were how I greeted people, but she only looked at me like I was a madman.

_"Ah, crap. Made myself look bad, didn't I?"_ My internal self began to bash at me.

"I apologize again, this is my way of greeting my friends," I said with a small laugh. "I'm Richard."

She returned my smile and replied, "Hello Richard, I'm Xin. Please don't be offended by my reaction, I think it was funny way to introduce yourself. I also have a different way of greeting people. Where I come from, we greet each other like this..." She approached me quickly and gave me a light kiss on the cheek.

I was completely caught off-guard by that. Stumbling backwards slightly, I felt heat rising into my cheeks and my words were all flustered. "N-N-Nice t-to... meet you Xin," I stuttered and quickly tried to disguise my embarrassment. "W-We should hurry up and pack our things in the dorms. The instructor will probably start the speech soon."

I pointed towards the rickety cabins and she nodded her head in agreement.

_"Well, at least she doesn't seem to think I'm a total idiot. This is a good start, right?"_


	5. Teaser - Antonio's presentation

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back and I'm finally posting the last teaser before I start the Training Camp chapters. I'm sorry I got delayed and couldn't make it sooner.**

**I'm still looking for some characters to fill out the plot. I'm still missing a commander for the Garrison, some members for the organizations and I will always accept more Trainees, specially some that would come from somewhere that is not Shingashina and that would like to join one of the other two groups (at least for starters, I need to create some character development).**

**I will also correct Richard's profile: he's about 177cm tall and weights 62 kg. From now on, I think I'll use the metric system used in my country, so that I don't mess up any character appearance. I hope you don't mind. If it gets too confusing for you guys just let me know and I'll change back to feet and pounds.**

**I hope you enjoy this mini chapter and a special thanks for Viscera, Nebula and all the others who have been sharing ideas with me, love you all and I couldn't make it without your help.**

* * *

**-A few years back-**

Antonio was a young, nine year-old boy that lived in the Shinganshina District.

He and his friends usually played hide-and-seek in a forest near town, despite the warnings of their parents to avoid that zone, as it was known to house dangerous animals. However, all of them ignored their warnings and continued using the place as their playground.

One day, while they were playing, Antonio heard one of his friends shouting for help.

"H-help! Someone, help me!"

In an instant, Antonio was up and running, his mind focusing on only one thing: saving his friend.

Running through dense shrubs, branches scraped at his skin, making him hiss in pain. The trees began to thin out slightly and that was where he glimpsed his friend and a large, brown creature circling around him. Stumbling into the clearing, he froze for a moment, but judging by the bear's deep growling and the screaming that his friend had done, the animal was preparing to attack.

"Watch out!" Antonio shouted at his friend. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. He saw the glinting claws and the poised mouth with gleaming canines dripping with saliva. Instinctively, the boy pumped his legs and jumped, pushing his friend out the bear's reach and instead, sacrificing himself. A searing pain in his chest made the boy open his mouth in a soundless scream. Warm liquid seeped into his ripped clothing and the bear rose on its hind paws, letting out an enormous roar.

"Run, get out of here..." He rasped, before passing out.

Thankfully, Antonio was rescued by a squadron of Garrison men who had heard the noises and rushed over to help. The men tranquilized the bear, then transported him to a local clinic, where his wounds were treated.

When his parents were contacted, they were in a state of panic. Arriving at the clinic, their Garrison uniforms were rumpled and stray hairs were sticking out. They were informed by their colleagues about what happened, and now, they just wanted relief and to know their son was alright.

"How is he!? Is he going to be okay!?" Antonio's father cried out, his face reflecting fear and anxiety. His mother was wide-eyed, crying while staring desperately at her son, who was sleeping in the bed.

The doctor gesture silenced both of them, and he said, "He should rest. Come, let's talk outside."

With the silent creak of the door, the white-coated man spoke softly, "Your son is going to be fine. The gouges were not very deep, surprisingly. He was only hit in the shoulder. You should be glad the bear didn't hit any vital spots, and that the Garrison men were there to save him from further damage." A relieved smile graced the older man's face, and likewise, the tension in the two parents were taken off their shoulders.

The parents smiled, knowing that their son would soon heal. "Thank you for everything, Doctor. You saved our son," Antonio mother's breathed out, happiness staining her voice.

* * *

Once more, the mysterious man searched through the Military Police birth certificates. This time, he was looking for information about a certain young boy: Antonio Rodrigues.

The man pulled out the form after a lot of searching. There were a lot of Rodrigues' in the Shiganshina District for some reason... While he flipped through the first pages, the man sighed in annoyance. "Why do they put so much useless information?" He asked out loud, adjusting his clothing.

The boy had fair skin, red hair, and brown eyes. Flipping through the pictures of the boy and his family, the man noticed that he acted like the Krieg boy concerning his hair; Antonio constantly wore his hair short, short and messy.

His father was of Portuguese origin and her mother was Irish. Both his parents were members of the Garrison military and currently active. They lived in Shiganshina District until the destruction of the Wall Maria. The man flipped through pages searching for more useful information, his other hand rubbing his creased forehead.

The personality section made the man laugh. Selfless with a protective attitude, the man snorted yet again. It explained why the silly boy hurt himself trying to save a friend that didn't even thank him afterward. The boy is also described as very mature and dependable boy, for his age. However, his expression changed when he reached information about Antonio's weakness: he hates the type of people who are lazy, cowards and careless. Stubborn and impatient. A small side note said that he got his bad temper from his mother. A small chuckle escaped his mouth after reading it.

"Guess it's not like father, like son."

The next page had information about what the boy's future aspirations were. The information collected stated that the boy had always wanted to join the Training Camp and become a Garrison soldier just like his parents.

"Maybe his opinion has changed after Wall Maria's fall..." The man murmured to himself. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy.

The man, now satisfied, with the information about his family turned back a few pages to Antonio's profile. His height was around 182 cm and his weight was 79 kg. More irrelevant information, the man thought.

As he skipped minor details, he regained interest in the boy's profile, reading a section that stated that from young age, he had 3DMG and sword lessons from his parents. "This could come in handy." The mysterious man mused.

The man straightened his back up and put down the files, re-wearing his jacket with the Scouting Legion emblem stitched into the back.

"Seems like I finally found the last member for your special Operation Squad, Corporal." The man said with a confident grin. He walked out the Military Police headquarters, a manila folder with the birth certificates under his arm.

* * *

**Antonio's POV**

It was a perfectly peaceful day and I was on my way home, debating the options I had in my future. _"Should I join the Garrison, like Mom and Dad..? Or maybe the Scouting Legion?"_ It sounds pretty fun, as much fun as flying through the air is...

I didn't even notice the guy in front of me until I bumped into him. Snapping my neck up, my eyes cleared and I quickly stammered, "S-sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and—" He wasn't even replying, so when I looked at his face, I realized he wasn't even paying attention to me. His eyes were trained far, far away, like everyone else's. Frozen, like statues, people all stood as if Medusa had glared at each and every one of them. They were all looking at the main gate.

Confused, I looked in the same direction and all I saw was a huge sandstorm. I could feel the gritty winds from here and I wondered why I didn't notice it earlier. As soon as the sandstorm died down, the shadow of something tall peeked over the walls.

My heart stopped when I realized what it was.

I couldn't move; I could only stare at the large, rocky face of a Titan. Its mouth was bared wide open, white fangs uncovered by lips glinting in the light. "It can't be…! Titans shouldn't be any taller than 15 meters!" I screamed, and yet, I couldn't say any more. Fear and panic stuck my words in my throat.

Although its eyes were hidden underneath the rocky structures of its face, I could've sworn I saw red eyes flash for a moment. The giant Titan's sand waves were still flowing from its body, but instead of around it, the sand was stinging my eyes.

I closed my eyes to blink for a moment, and when I reopened them, the Titan was already moving. I didn't even have time to react. A huge explosion rocked the ground of Shiganshina and the earthquake-like movement had me thrown on my back, skidding painfully until I hit a building. My eyes unfocused and everything was blurry when I attempted to sit up.

What was clear was the gaping hole in the Wall. The Titan had just kicked through the gate like it was nothing.

Chunks of what remained of the hole were scattered everywhere, squashed people looking like bugs underneath the debris. Houses were cleanly crushed by the large pieces and I could only watch as chaos and mayhem spread through the crowd as the realization hit them.

However, when I looked back up, the Titan was gone, as if swallowed up by the sandstorm it had created.

"No way..." I could only breathe out. With a hole that large, the Titans would easily... Screaming and wailing drowned out my own voice and all I could think of was of myself and my future. _"Would I be able to even make it to the Training Camp? No...Not at this rate..."_

_"W-wait...Mom! Dad!"_ My thoughts flew to them as I scrambled to my feet, pain throbbing in my right shoulder. If they were to die... I tried to reassure myself. _"They'll be okay, it'll be okay. They're strong, they wouldn't be squashed under some petty rocks, right? Garrison soldiers are strong, just like the Scouting Legion..!"_

However, with the incoming Titans that were eagerly stomping their way through the hole, my own thoughts doubted themselves. Dad had been working since morning, so he was probably fighting the Titans to save as many people as he could.

My pounding feet and heavy breathing paid off as I burst through the door of my house. "Mom!"

She ran out of her bedroom, tears in her eyes. Mom squeezed me tightly in a hug that I knew had some kind of meaning to it. It wasn't the normal tight hug; it felt more like a hug of goodbye, of farewells and of realization of death. "Mom..." Her Garrison uniform was starched, looking sharp and it fit her presentable appearance, even if she was battling.

They were both the same, my Mom and my Dad... In the end, they couldn't value their lives above the lives of others.

"Antonio, listen to me," She knelt beside me, wiping my tears with her hands. "You know what my job is and I have a duty to uphold. You're a strong, growing boy, okay? The emergency boats are already loading, so go!" I could hear the distress in her voice and by the splotches of liquid on the floor, she was crying.

"B-but Mom...I don't want you to die!" I cried out and wrapped my arms around her tightly. "Please, don't leave me!"

I wrapped my arms around my mom. "Please, don't go!" Despite my pleading words, I already knew she would leave me. She always took her job seriously, and for the first time in my life, I wished my parents were in the Military Police.

"You think I'm going to let some Titan get the best of me?" She flashed me a cocky grin and loosened my grip on her as she stood up. "I'll show you just how strong your Mom is!"

Yet, her eyes spoke of a different emotion. "Time's running out, Antonio. Get to the river and escape. Your father and I will be there as soon as we can." The look she gave me was a mix of finality and parting lovers. The tears didn't stop rolling down my face as she hooked her 3DMG into the nearest building, launching herself away with only the scent of her faint perfume lingering in the air.

The least I could do was uphold her last words. I didn't want to believe my parents would die, but in the end, my subconscious already knew.

I took off, running as fast as I could to the place she had pointed out to me when I was younger.

The path I took was littered with so many dead bodies. Bodies impaled from the initial explosion, bodies lying on the ground with knives next to them. Suicide and blood, mixed in with detached limbs. People devoured by Titans almost never had parts of them left behind, but their blood remained, the brown roads stained permanently with red.

It was clear that peace would no longer linger in the faint hours of the day anymore.

_"No one can do anything to stop them. The Titans are too strong...We're too weak..."_ My fists clenched tightly as I kept running, pointing my eyes back to the road. I heard the moaning of dying people, crying for help, for God to save them, for someone to swoop down and rescue them. They wanted the angels, but, surely, I thought, the angels can't help us, because we are in Hell.

My eyes were so busy trained to the ground that I didn't realize I had run into a dead end. The imposing wall made my hands unclench and tremble. _"I'm done for..."_

Loud footsteps rumbled the ground behind me. A Titan had been following me the entire time, a large, sickly smile crossing its face. It looked sadistically ecstatic at the realization that it would have another snack, because blood was dripping from between its teeth.

I fell to the ground knee-first. "This...this is it...I'm going to die here, like a wimp. A coward." A sarcastic chuckle made its way out of my mouth and I closed my eyes, tilting my head up. I should just give up...

A large hand closed around my waist and I refused to open my eyes. I didn't want the last thing I saw to be some stupid Titan's smiling face. The rotting smell of flesh washed over me like a disgusting-smelling hot bath. I could only remember flashes of my life as they seemed to leave my brain before my death.

Before I was devoured, the Titan's hand was suddenly gone. The sound of whizzing wires and expulsion of gas was so familiar. A 3DMG. A firm grip secured itself around my waist and I felt the sensation of flying through the air. Cracking my eyes open, I flinched when the sound of flesh against ground rumbled, despite me and the unknown person being far away from the fallen Titan.

The Scouting Legion cloak tickled my face as we flew through the air, past others wearing the same uniform mixing in with Garrison members. The silver and blue wings of freedom, I remembered with a nostalgic grin. Mom had told me about them with a sense of wonderment in her words. _"An angel, saving someone...Was I worthy of being saved, over the rest of them?"_

The cloak fluttered downwards, and blonde hair peeked over the green. A jolt later, I realized we had landed and she gently set me down, brushing off dirt that had stuck to my pants. She was definitely older than me, with hair that reminded me of hay. The stray hairs not tied up in her ponytail framed her face that was now frowning at me. I sheepishly looked down, but my thoughts whirred, _"She looks so young...but she just killed that Titan and carried me as if it were nothing...!"_

"What were you thinking of?!" She began reprimanding me, and all of a sudden, I was reminded of Mom. "I know it's normal to feel fear, but you can't just give up and die like that!" Her hand clapped on my shoulder harshly and I felt the muscle and the strength behind her grip.

"Panic..." I muttered and I heard her let out a sigh.

"That can't be helped, I suppose. We'd better hurry, the boats are almost full." Grabbing me by the hand, I was half caught off-guard by her bold decision, but with the urgency of the situation, I told myself I was silly for worrying about things like that. She easily cut through the crowd, what with everyone staring at the emblem on her back. She let of my hand when we got to the front and my eyes strayed to the crowd that was trying to push through.

Men and women, children of all ages were standing, looking like a crowd of mice without a leader. Panic, fear, helplessness, desperation, all of it reflected in their eyes as they scrutinized me like a piece of pig on a butcher's stand.

However, I turned my head away.

_"It's useless to try and empathize. This world is harsh..."_ I told myself as the Scouting Legion woman led me onto the stuffed boat. I saw people with their faces hidden by their hands, others rocking back and forth with a traumatized expression on their faces. I saw people my age, emotionless and broken, tears running down their faces. I was one of them.

I sunk to the ground, their expressions slowly affecting my own.

"Hey...uh...what's your name?" The blonde woman awkwardly scratched the base of her ponytail with a pitying expression.

"Antonio." I replied vaguely, my eyes not meeting hers, but occasionally glancing up.

I saw her flash me a smile. "I'm Danika. Sorry...about the lecture earlier. I can't stand people that take their lives for granted..." She trailed off, but I saw the concerned expression on her face.

"I know what you meant." My voice was soft, just like the weak smile on my face.

After a few minutes of silence, I felt the boat starting to move. The sound of sloshing water broke the silence and for some odd reason, it felt comforting. The boat was probably at its full capacity, as the back of another man was pressing uncomfortably against my legs.

"Mom, Dad…" I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but Danika heard me.

"Don't worry about them. I'm sure your parents are on one of the two boats," Danika patted my head in an attempt to be comforting. She was wrong by a long shot.

"My parents are helping the citizens. Garrison members. They won't run until everyone is safe," I said sorrowfully. She didn't respond this time, instead simply grabbing my hand. Danika was warm, compared to me, like an older sister I had never had.

_"Surely, everything would be okay, right?"_

* * *

**Normal POV**

Garrison members lined the walls, their uniforms almost glowing in the sunlight. The loud creaking noises signaled the closing of the gates that accessed the inner area of Wall Maria. Cannons outside of the walls were busy, the powder flying in the air, making soldiers manning the weapons cough. Normal Titans were crippled by the large spheres of metal, but their gait was undeterred in the end.

"Close the gate! If they break through here, we'll lose all of Wall Maria!" A soldier's voice floated out and others agreed with shouts, until another man screamed back,

"But the citizens in Shiganshina! They'll die!"

They all began to argue back and forth, until they all realized that the gate had just closed with a final thump against the ground.

One soldier spat on the floor, grumbling, "All of you. Cowards, the lot of you."

"If you aren't one, why aren't you using your 3DMG to kill the Titans?"

The soldier froze and then looked away.

However, a loud rumbling noise attracted their attention. A Titan, Aberrant in appearance, was running towards the gate. Skinless, its shiny red muscle exuded mass amounts of steam, sizzling the very ground it stood on. Although it was 15 meters in height, like all the other bumbling Titans, that was where the similarities ended. It had sharp red eyes and a mane of black hair, setting it apart from all the others.

Flames seemed to flicker underneath the muscles of its body and the air around the Titan wavered, heat expelling out of the being in excess amounts.

"Stop the Titan! Cannons, fire!" The commander of the Garrison sector directed with a wave of his hand.

A wave of black cannonballs flew into the air, all of them heading towards the different Titan. However, its mouth opened, and fire roared into the air, melting the cannonballs in the air. It seemed to smirk evilly as its stride was uninterrupted now.

The boat with the survivors had reached the edge of Wall Rose by now, but even from the distance, they could see the billowing smoke from the other side of the gate.

"W-what's happening?!" Antonio stood up, his eyes squinting towards the horizon, but Danika shook her head. She didn't know anything either. The low murmur of talking died down into silence as all the people watched. The large metal gate seemed to waver, and in mere seconds, it began to melt.

Everyone could only drop their jaws in shock.

Lots of steam surrounded the Titan's mouth as the last of the gate disappeared as a mass of melted liquid.

"N-no way...Two weird Titans?!" Antonio gasped out loud and Danika only stared at him wordlessly.

Wall Maria had been breached and the humans living in the area would soon be reduced to nothing. They would only have the inner regions of Wall Rose and Sina.

The blonde woman gently pulled the teen back to the seat. People were starting to stare at him, judging him.

"I'll definitely avenge you, Mom, Dad! I'll bring down those monsters and save humanity!" Antonio whispered to himself, anger filling his words as his fist clenched with his nails digging into the dirty skin of his palm.

He was heartbroken, but instead of waiting for death, he would do something about it this time. Danika had taught him in the few seconds of his rescue. Antonio would join the Training Camp, and then the Scouting Legion.

The teen was damn sure he'd be fighting with all of his might to bring down all of the Titans and restore peace to his wrecked homeland.


	6. Training Camp - Chapter 1

**A/N: Sup guys, I'm back again with a new update. This time it'll be the first official for the story. This will only have the Rite of Passage scene since I'm still working with some of my readers to come up with something for two OC's. This being said, keep in mind that no actual dialogue will be made between the trainees, although I plan on work on that for the next update. This was a merely a few introduction to all the trainees that I got submited so far.**

**I'm still accepting more characters for the story, but keep in mind if they're trainees they will probably won't play a big role for the story since I already have 15 of them. **  
**Pm me if you're interested in doing an OC for this story, I'll answer you with the details of what I'm still looking for this story.**

**If you want me to post an author note with the list of the accepted roles and characters please let me know and I'll do that. **

**I hope you enjoy :D**

* * *

**Training Camp**

The beginning of the training for the trainees of the 104th squad was starting. Melda Asker knew that some would give up on the first day because of her, but others would trudge through the training, only to quit later or be sent off to another job. Others...the others would die during the three years of training. She didn't have high hopes for the soft kids walking through the gates as she eyed them.

She knew she was strict-looking. She was tall and tanned, athletic in all aspects. However, what made her one of the scariest higher-ups was her abusive personality and her sharp steel-grey eyes.

Melda didn't necessarily enjoy humiliating and scaring kids, but it was something she had to do to prepare them. They needed the exhaustive training so they could become warriors of mankind against the Titans.

That was the most important part.

As the kids lined up, she began to walk away from her post towards the group. Her chin tilted up and her eyes narrowed, making sure to glare at some kids with disdain as they had the audacity to meet gazes with her.

"Today is your first day of pain. You will be training to become soldiers of mankind. You will learn how to fight, the mechanics behind the 3D Maneuver Gear, horse riding, about the Titans, and how to survive!" Melda's voice was loud. Even the kids in the back flinched at her harsh tone. "I'm here to make sure you complete your training. But if you think I'm going to make it easy because I'm a girl, I will prove you wrong. So you'd better be ready for hard, whipping training because there won't be any cushions for pussy boys here! If you're not ready, pack your bags and run back to your moms!"

Melda grinned internally. The group of kids hadn't moved, but she already saw unease spreading among the ranks. She secretly felt bad for the first line of trainees as she began her stride towards them. Her gray eyes scanned the crowd, looking for her first victim of her famous "rite of passage."

She was sure she'd either scare the kids into fleeing, or end up making them hate her.

Either way, she didn't care.

Most of the trainees had nervous expressions on their faces, while others fought to look calm. The others that looked indifferent piqued her curiosity.

Melda walked past Antonio and sized him up without speaking. The dark, determined expression in his eyes and his perfect posture already told her what she needed to know. _"Looks like we have our first winner."_

Next to him, there seemed to be an empty spot, but when she looked down, she saw a young, small, blonde girl. Her large, green eyes, thought expressive at first glance, showed emptiness on the inside.

"Who the hell are you?!" Melda shouted, lowered herself face-to-face with the newbie.

The girl visibly tensed up, quickly making the salute and answering, "Emelia Orr, ma'am! From Mitras!"

The Instructor straightened up and her features were already laced with annoyance. Brats, all of them. "Alright, shitheads, I forgot to tell you about my three golden rules!"

Emelia shivered, dropping the salute and grabbing onto her other arm with a scared face.

"First, never call me 'ma'am!' The ones that dare to will be eating breadcrumbs for a week. I tolerate 'sir' and 'sir' only! Second, I don't want to see anyone joking around! Survival is not a joke, and anyone laughing will be punished." She breathed in and as she did, a sadistic grin stretched across her lips. "Lastly, if you show desperation of any kind in front of me, I'll have you know that my boot will be hitting you hard in a place you don't want it to go and you'll be kicked right out. I'm not your babysitter and I won't be the one to dote on any of you!"

Leaning down again to face Emelia, she snarled, "You're pretty lucky I didn't warn you before. You'd be starving for the rest of the week, pretty girl."

Melda paused to stare contently at the trembling she felt from the blonde girl. "What are you doing so far away from your cushy little home, Princess?!" The instructor dared the girl to amuse her.

"I-I'm here to join the Scouting Legion, sir! T-to help humanity by killing as many Titans as I can!" Her scared expression seemed to harden slightly at the mention of Titans and Melda held back the grin threatening to break her stoic expression.

"Do you think the Scouting Legion needs a pest like you? You'd serve a good snack for 'em, that's for sure." Melda gripped the girl by her arm, not bothering to look at Emelia's hurt expression, and turned her around. "Enough, Princess. Face backwards!"

She continued her walking, pulling out random, weak-looking trainees and screaming at them. Some of them started to tear up, and one even ran out. But better for humanity, because the training camp didn't need wusses.

Passing Richard, her eyes barely glanced over him, but recognition flashed in her eyes. She knew this kid. Taking a step backwards, she looked at him sideways. "Do I know you from somewhere, punk?"

"_Damn, how did she recognize me?"_ Richard thought, but answered her, "No, sir! Not personally, at least! I'm Richard Krieg, from Mitras, sir!"

The tall woman narrowed her eyes and sarcastically replied, "Oh, you're the Krieg boy! You'd better be as strong as your old man. Don't shame the family name!"

However, she paused to look at the girl beside Richard. This one was special, Melda knew. A full Asian girl was hard to come by these days, and judging from the narrowed eyes of Xin Tien, she knew it had been hard surviving in general. The impeccably straight posture and the haunted eyes, paired with the tightness of her clothing around her arms and legs meant that she was most definitely ready. She had seen things that others hadn't before, so there was no need for words.

Next to Xin, stood a girl with pale skin and reddish-pink hair, her eyes slightly unfocused. The unique hair color made the instructor remember the girl's name. Rosaline Nash. The grim line of her mouth made Melda only size her up silently. _"Seems like these two girls have it tough."_

Walking away from that section, her eyes lighted on a young-looking, tiny boy. "Hey! Who the hell are you?!"

"Samuel Windle, sir! From Trost!" The platinum blonde-haired boy answered as he saluted firmly. A part of his eyebrow twitched from the effort to keep a straight face.

"Samuel, hm? That's a shitty name. I'll call you Mule from now on, then! What are you doing here?!" Melda glared at him eye-to-eye.

"I'm here to join the Garrison, sir!" Samuel's face stopped the forced twitching and became serious.

Melda let out a grin and said, "A shitty purpose for a shitty person! It suits you fine, but I know of a better end for you: ending up in a Titan's belly!" The boy's mouth twitched but she shouted again, "Face backwards, Mule!"

A couple trainees after, she stopped in front of a boy with short and messy red hair. His expression was completely different from the nervous anxiousness permeating everyone's face. Joy and enthusiasm glinted in his eyes as he shifted from foot-to-foot, as if he couldn't wait to meet her.

"_The __hell?"_ Melda thought.

"I'm Cain Murrik, sir! I'm from Trost!" His voice was even happier than his face, and her eyebrows creased sharply.

In a fluid movement, she had him lifted off the ground with her left arm, almost nose-to-nose.

"I didn't ask for you to speak, trainee!" Her loud voice made him squint his eyes slightly. "What are you doing here, brat?!" She dropped Cain unceremoniously on the ground, making sure to have him fall on his tailbone.

To her surprise, the boy sprang back up with perfect posture, before answering, "I want to join the Scouting Legion, sir! I want to learn about the Titans!" His silver eyes almost glowed at his excited answer.

As if it wasn't silent before, the camp seemed to die in terms of sound. The instructor was silent as well, tilting her head in a way that made everyone uncomfortable.

To Cain's right, a young, tall boy with brown hair in a crew-cut watched the scene, thinking, _"His objective is similar to mine. I don't...really blame him for his curiosity."_

"Good luck with that, brat. Odd-case trainees, these days." She snorted and skipped Jeorge, the tall boy that was on the right side of Cain.

Jeorge looked at Cain, his kind orange eyes, and whispered, "Don't let it get to you. I'm also curious 'bout the Titans. I'm Jeorge." At hearing this, the red-haired boy smiled.

However, before he could reply, Melda screamed, "Silence!" And to her pleasure, the camp was dead quiet again.

Melda continued to examine every trainee. She noticed some had passed, some with grim expressions on their faces, making the woman wonder if they had suffered from the fall of Wall Maria, or they just had a cruel past.

Among those, she burned six faces into her mind. She had read their birth certificates because he had given them to her.

Cay Endresen, a fourteen year-old boy with a military hairstyle and light brown eyes. He was tall for his age, and muscular, something she didn't see very often. There was barely anything put in his past section. All she knew was that he was from Ragako, a small village inside Wall Rose.

The second was Elisa Peters, a fourteen year-old girl that lived in Shiganshina with her family. One of the survivors, her expression didn't show it, because if it weren't for the furrowed eyebrows, the smirk on her lips would've made Melda flip out on her.

Iosif Blanchett was the third exception. His build was similar to Cay's, but he had short, dirty blonde hair, with the most curious golden-colored eyes, and pale skin that was rare nowadays. It was registered that the blonde-haired boy lived with his aunt in a small farm, north-east of Shiganshina district, until the fall of the Wall Maria.

Emma Muller was next to Iosif, the height difference startling. She was very short, but her steel blue eyes reflected the same seriousness as Iosif. The file told her the girl was thirteen, one of the youngest to come by the training camp.

Melda recognized Asta much later. She had an unrecognizable face with short brown hair pulled into a ponytail and blue eyes. However, her complexion was very pale like Iosif's. Asta had lived with her adoptive family before the fall of Wall Maria, but her face didn't show love or abuse.

The last one Melda ignored was Kaspar Bauer, a fourteen year-old boy, with a muscular and lean appearance. Unremarkable, with short black hair and green eyes, but the way he held himself made her think was known that the boy once lived in a village inside Wall Rose. This small area suffered a terrible accident and, his family is presumed dead.

Melda was about to reach the end of the line of trainees, when she noticed a boy with an ambitious look burning in his eyes, but he didn't seem very ready. _"This'll be the last. The ones that scurried away for their mommies made me laugh."_ She thought with a sinister smirk.

"Your name and why you're here, soldier!" She roared, searching for something to exploit from the boy.

"Aksel Iversen from Ragako, sir! My older brother was in the Scouting Legion, but disappeared, so I decided to join the Legion to search for him!" His words were full of conviction, but Melda only narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at his chest.

"So the Fairy wants to join the brave and wonderful military branch, off to save humanity? You must be incredibly stupid, that's for sure! You'll be good as dead, so you'd better give up now!" Aksel started to shake, but his neck held his head firmly.

A light chuckle was heard from behind him and he resisted the urge to tear up. The nickname suited the boy perfectly, though. He was light-skinned and his hair and eyes made him look like he came out from a fairy tale...

Melda stepped back and searched for the culprit of the laughter. A small blonde-haired girl bit her lip to contain her urge to laugh outright.

The woman quickly made her way to the girl. "You think that was funny?! Rule 3, I absolutely hate fooling around! State your name, soldier!"

The girl tried to regain her posture and made a quick, sloppy salute with a crack of, "J.J., sir! I'm from a village in Wall Sina."

Emelia, at the sound of her nickname, looked directly at the girl. "No way... W-what are you doing here, Jessica?" Unfortunately, she had said it out loud and Melda had really sharp hearing.

The brown-haired woman almost choked at J.J.'s response. She was really pissed off.

"You think that's funny?" Her loud voice had dwindled to a deadly, soft purr. "I didn't ask you for your nickname..."

J.J. was clearly intimidated, even though Melda wasn't using a lot of her voice power. "I-I apologize, sir! But that's the name I go by!" She answered once more, hoping that it would be enough.

Everyone almost jaw-dropped after hearing the girl disrespect the instructor twice. They all believed the girl had a death wish.

"You like to fool around, hm?" Melda hissed. A cynic smile passed her face. She would finally be able to show her famous punishment that made everyone, even her colleagues cringe.

"J.J., was it? Do you know a good way to take that smile off that face of yours?" The woman raised her eyebrows once, disdain clear in her eyes. She didn't wait for an answer and it was clear the girl didn't want to answer her. "I want you to run around the training grounds for the rest of the day with no dinner!" Her voice escalated again and all the trainees winced.

Jessica's blue eyes reflected despair as she thought, _"It's not like I wanted to be disrespectful..."_ But she answered, "Sir, yes, sir!" And began her laps.

Melda turned around and returned to the center to face the trainees. "Alright, stupid brats. It's time for dinner and curfew is at ten. This will the only free time you'll have so use it wisely. Before starting camp, you'll have to go through tests to see if you have what it takes to be a soldier, so get ready." She called out and kept a steady gaze on the fidgeting kids.

"For the ones who have changed their minds about joining the Military, see the assistant at the main barracks. He'll see to where your wimpy ass goes."

* * *

**Scouting Legion Headquarters**

Danika made her way towards the office of the Second Lieutenant of the Scouting Legion. Her red, long-sleeved shirt peek underneath the normal outfit of the Recon Corps.

It was said that the Commander had a special assignment for her, now that she was a freelancer.

Knocking on the door, her foot tapped the ground as she waited for a response. Faintly, she heard a "Come in!" and opened the door to step in.

"Al—I-I mean, Lieutenant Al! Long time no see," Danika tripped over her words, but the man took it with an amused smile.

A spiky-haired, blonde man sat on a chair comfortably, his deep blue eyes glinting. He had a huge pile of files on the desk and by the small tag by his desk, his name was Albert Schmidt.

"Danika, it's good to see you. I've been rather busy with the new promotion the Commander gave me," his voice sounded bored and just a bit tired. "Well, enough of my whining. The Commander said he had an urgent assignment for you."

The blonde woman sat on a chair and mockingly replied, "Jeez, Albert, you're becoming just like the Commander. All work, no play...Ah, go ahead, I'm all ears."

Her comment made Albert chuckle. He said, "Sorry Dani, but this is an urgent matter. Today was the first day of the 104th Trainees Squad." As he paused, Danika nodded her head. "The Commander wants you to assist Melda with supervising and evaluating them."

Danika's face changed when she heard him speak.

"What?" Her voice sounded breathless. "Here, I thought you needed me to wipe out some Titans inside Wall Maria, but you're just going to send me to a training camp to supervise new kids?!" She asked agitatedly. She was normally calm, but this was over the top ridiculous.

Albert raised his hands in midair and replied calmly, "I know you think it's a stupid mission, but with the amount of our losses, the Commander believes we need to scout some new members to join our cause."

He handed her a folder with some files in it and continued, "The Commander already made a personal evaluation on the trainees and he thinks that some of them can actually change the place we live in. Pay close attention to those people in the next 3 years, okay? We can't possibly succeed in the war with the pitiable amount of officers we have. 200 members and counting down, since our last attempt to take back the Wall."

His reasoning made her temper chill out. She knew he was right and she trusted the Commander wholly. She knew he would always pick the best choice. He was the master strategist, the best one so far, the one who had reduced the Scouting Legion's losses by 30 percent.

Nodding, Danika said, "Alright. I guess I should hit the road then, got a long ways to go. See you around, Al. You better be safe 'till I get back. Send the Commander my regards!"

Albert laughed and joked back, "Don't get crazy when babysitting those kids."

With that, she left, her cloak floating in the air of her hurriedness. Danika mounted her horse and pressed the stirrups, causing the animal to gallop at an accelerating pace. She hoped that she'd be able to get to the camp on time for her, and their first day...


	7. Training Camp - Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. This time I couldn't release the update sooner. I have been busy with college stuff.  
Thank you so much for all the support you have been giving me through PM and reviews, it means a lot to me.**

**Without any further ado, here it's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy :D**

* * *

**The first week – Part 1**

A few hours had passed since the introduction of the new trainee squad. A large percentage of them already had lost hope and decided to leave the training camp after hearing Melda's terrifying speech.

However, most of the trainees were inside the dining hall. Many were already eating and their expressions spoke of their satisfaction at having a hot, nice meal. The accident from a few months back caused food shortages, decreasing the living conditions for a lot of villagers within the Outer Walls. A large amount of the trainees joined the military for the sole purpose of having food to eat, a safe bed to sleep in, and to escape the gruesome labor underneath the sizzling sun.

A small amount of the kids were completely unaware of their food, their minds fixed on their own goals and their future. They were still outside on the porch, sitting with a dreamy look in their eyes, or making small talk with one another. The remaining were the humiliated trainees, shaken up and close to tears.

Cain was seated outside the dining hall, when he spotted Jeorge coming in his direction with the rest of the trainees that were still outside exploring the training camp grounds.

He quickly stood up and walked in his direction with a hopefully friendly wave. "Hey Jeorge! I want to thank you for what you've said earlier, it really meant a lot having someone backing me up," Cain smiled and offered him a handshake, the outgoing look on his face telling the other boy he wanted to be friends.

Jeorge accepted it, firmly shaking his hand, and said, "No problem, Cain. Just don't let what the Instructor said affect you. It's only normal to want to know more about them, so you can count on me from now on. We're on the same boat, after all."

After those comforting words, Cain thought Jeorge somehow looked different from the rest. His eyes looked different, maybe a little older, a little more tired. He wasn't sure what it meant, but it didn't matter to him, because he had his first friend.

Antonio unconsciously heard their talk and stepped away respectfully, hoping the two didn't notice his presence. It would've been awkward and they would've made a scene. With his movement, out of his peripheral, he noticed Samuel, sitting on the ground with his elbows on his knees, a depressed look on his face.

The boy sighed. He had been in a similar position and he believed it wasn't bad to want to be a part of the Garrison. A faction needed members anyway, so he decided to help him out.

The red haired boy walked to Samuel and sat beside him, silent for a moment. Samuel glanced at Antonio, but didn't speak. Then, Antonio said, "I'm Antonio."

The small, blonde boy didn't reply and only hung his head further. "Look, I know it's none of my business, but I wanted to tell you that you shouldn't really care about what Melda said to you, 'cause I wanted to join the Garrison too..." Antonio stumbled on his words and trailed off, wiping the sadness out of his voice.

He had caught Samuel's attention and Antonio continued, "You need to be strong, if you want to be a part of the Garrison, but I think you can do it." A small smile made its way on the red-haired boy's face. "Just hang in there and brave the camp out."

At first, the blonde boy didn't respond, but he raised his head with the barest of smiles twitching on his lips. "...Thanks, Antonio. I needed that."

Antonio stood up and looked one last time at Samuel. His eyes hadn't changed at all, but at least he didn't look as kicked-puppy as he did before. The redheaded boy assumed he was the type to show a mask, instead of his true feelings.

Samuel continued to sit and mull over the day's events. He wanted to be as strong as everyone else, but he felt he lacked the willpower, and that made him feel so down, and useless. But Antonio had helped him out with those simple words, and the blonde boy wanted to repay him somehow. However, he was more curious about how the redhead was so strong in such harsh conditions. He didn't dare ask, though, because it looked like he had his fair share of pain.

Cain, though, wasn't as shy as Samuel.

Walking up to Antonio with Jeorge by his side, the boy couldn't contain his excitement. He knew both of them had seen the monsters in a distance that none of them had before. He really did respect both of them, but his impulsive, curious mind blurted out, "Hey Jeorge? Antonio? Can I ask you something?"

Both of the boys nodded and he continued, "So, since the Instructor passed both of you without speaking, you guys came from Shiganshina or something, right? Did you see the Rocky Titan? The Flame Titan, too?" Immediately afterwards, Cain realized his mistake.

The other trainees had perked up, their words dying on their lips as their eyes trained on the two males that stood awkwardly, with creased foreheads and darkened eyes.

**Richard's POV**

I heard what Cain had asked and I knew it wasn't going to end well. _"This isn't good. A delicate topic like that shouldn't be talked about on the first day..."_

In a rush, I began to nudge other people aside with a plan forming. _"Maybe I can distract all of them with food?"_

"Hey! Guys! Dinner's served and Melda said the people who're late won't get food for the next two days!" Everyone's attention, thankfully, was attracted, and they all started heading back to the mess hall. I breathed a sigh of relief and headed back with the crowd. I was actually pretty hungry now. I hadn't realized it before, but I hadn't had lunch today, so my stomach growled.

* * *

**Normal POV**

Inside the mess hall, all the trainees were eating, relaxing, and making small talk in their formed groups. By their animated talking and somewhat more positive expressions, they were excited for their first week. Richard could understand where they were coming from, as he was excited as well.

He was standing, with a tray of food in his hands, looking for an empty seat. His eyes searched for a familiar face, but he realized that the only person he really knew was Xin, who blended in with all the others with brown hair. Richard's palms got a little sweatier, as people began looking at him curiously, because he was standing awkwardly like the new kid at school with nowhere to sit. Luckily, he spotted her and her weird bangs and made his way towards her after noticing the open spot next to her.

As Richard made his way towards her, he noticed another guy trying to grab the seat.

_"Oh, hell no, dude! That's gonna be my seat!"_ He thought as he sped up, and as he passed, Richard shot a smug grin at him. The guy looked a little affronted, but turned away silently.

"Hey Xin," He grinned and took his seat.

She glanced over and her eyes softened from their previous serious look, but she didn't say anything. Her hand continued their motions of mechanically shoving food into her mouth. He began to do the same, and a comforting silence fell over the two.

But, when Richard glanced over, her hands were folded in her lap and her plate was empty, while his was still full. She had sat there to make him seem like he had a friend to be with, and he felt a small bit guilty at taking a part of her time.

"What'd you think of the Instructor? She was pretty scary, right?" Richard tried to initiate a conversation, and she tilted her head to the side, thinking.

Xin replied, "She was, but I don't think she means to be."

"What do you mean?" Richard asked, his eyes trained on her face. He never noticed the sharp, yet dreamy look in her eyes.

"I mean, she might be loud, but it's to help us succeed, right? So we can survive."

"Ah, yeah...I guess you're right, I'd rather have a strict instructor than a lax one," Richard agreed, then leaned closer, snickering, "But you know, if she was married, I think she'd be the one in the pants, right?"

He nudged Xin playfully, watching her expression. At his words, her eyebrows softened and her lips pressed together, stifling her bubbling laughter. A hand rose to cover her mouth as her eyes closed and her shoulders shook in silent laughter.

"T-this is true," she coughed out with a smile on her face that she didn't hide after her laughter subsided. Despite her normally serious expression, she found it easy to smile around Richard. He glowed with confidence and an easygoing personality.

But with their noise, Xin noticed Melda eyeing her with a particularly threatening look in her eyes and she knocked elbows with the laughing male and hissed, "Hey, if she hears us, we'll be dead for sure. And punished, like that J.J. girl."

Richard covered his mouth with the sleeve of his black shirt. "S-sorry, I'll stop. But that was pretty funny, wasn't it?" His face had assumed his normal expression now, but even after his words, he still wanted to make her laugh and ease the situation a little more.

"It was. I'm glad you decided to sit here," she blinked and began shifting to stand up. "I'm a little tired, but I will see you tomorrow, then?"

The brown-haired boy's expression fell slightly, but he held out his fist. "Alright, see you, Xin."

With a small smile, she fist-bumped him and went on her way. Richard turned back to his food and realized most of it was gone, except for half a piece of bread, and that his hunger was sated, but before he could move, he noticed a pair of green eyes staring at him.

"R-Richy Boy? Is that you?"

"_That stupid nickname...?!"_ He quickly looked around and recognized the person that had called out. It was a small girl with long, blonde hair and green eyes.

"Wait, you're the girl with the face of an angel, but the personality of a devil...! Emelia? What are you doing here?" Surprise colored his words as he teased Emelia casually.

The twisted compliment Richard gave her caused the girl to blush slightly as she avoided eye contact by looking at her food. Richard made his way towards her and sat next to her, stretching out his legs in the opposite direction. "Well...I was expelled from home, because Father told me I wasn't needed and that I might as well die serving in the Scouts..." Sorrow and shame filled her voice and Richard ground his teeth.

"Damn that old fart, treating his own daughter like that just because he's family with the King," Richard snarled and his fists clenched at the treatment. He couldn't stand the fact that her father did that just to protect the family name. "Well, just forget about that scum. He doesn't deserve someone awesome like you, so don't do anything reckless, alright?"

He reached over and patted her shoulder in a way he hoped was comforting and she looked at him with wide eyes. He was always just a silly boy that was messing with her, so his advice was a completely surprise.

Her social skills were a little lacking, so she quickly averted her eyes back to her food, feeling the blush burn from her ears to her cheeks.

"T-thanks," Emelia murmured shyly, grabbing her bread inconspicuously and hiding it. "I have something to do, so I'll talk to you later...I really appreciated that."

Richard noticed that she was hiding the bread while hurrying towards the doorway. Quickly rushing after her with his own bread, he called out, "Hey! Demon girl! Wait up!"

Grabbing the sleeve of her white, button-up collar shirt, he said, "Here, take this. She'll probably be starving from all that running." Richard handed her the piece of bread. Emelia, for a second, just stood there speechlessly, her green eyes blinking in surprise.

"H-how did you—"

Richard interrupted her with, "I'm not just a jokester, you know? Smarter than I look." He tapped his cheek, but feigned hurt. "Go and help her out."

With that, she continued on her path outside to help J.J., who was still doing her laps around the campus.

* * *

After finishing his dinner, Cain moved to the table where Antonio and Jeorge were seated. _"I have to apologize to them...I was way too blunt by bringing up that question..."_ He thought to himself.

"Ummm..." Antonio and Jeorge stared at him, waiting for him to speak. "Look, uh, I'm sorry for what I did earlier; it was stupid and I didn't mean to bring back bad memories or hurt you guys." He said, bowing respectfully and hoping that both of them would forgive him.

Both of them were silent, but exchanged glances at each other, before Jeorge decided to speak for both of them, "Hey Cain, don't worry, we're not mad at you. Just try not to touch that subject again in front of us since we'd rather not talk about it." Exhaling a sigh of relief, Cain sat with them and three boys kept talking animatedly.

However, a couple of other Shiganshina survivors weren't as lucky as them. The ones who still wanted to know more about what happened in the fall of Shiganshina grouped up, bombarding a brunette girl named Elisa with questions, since she was one of the few that were left out in the rite.

"Did you see the Titans?" "What do they look like?" "What about the Rocky Titan, I've heard he was like 60 meters tall!" Various trainees were shouting questions to the tanned girl as she just sat there with an angry look in her hazel eyes.

Adjusting her brown dress, Elisa quickly stood up, knocking a couple trainees back with her sudden movements, and shouted back at them, "Stop your stupid questions! You cowards are all so excited now, but I bet you wouldn't even been able to move if you saw a mere Titan." She punched the table in front of her rattling the wood. She looked pissed and definitely was pissed.

A few tables behind her, Rosaline, a girl that was probably one of the oldest in the Camp, at 16 years old, heard the distressed girl. She tossed back her dark pink hair, but her bangs returned to cover her left eye. Taller than most of the trainees, she easily carved her way through the crowd and made her way beside Elisa.

"Leave her alone, you guys." Her voice was loud, but not overly demanding. Her eyes were filled with concern for the younger girl, and surprisingly, the angry brunette allowed her to put a protective hand over her shoulders. Walking herself and Elisa outside the mess hall, she tossed back," You guys should just stop talking about that, or I'll make you shut up! I'll join the Scouting Legion and bring down those Titan bastards anyway."

As she turned away from the crowd, her free hand touched the black rose pendant hanging around her neck, remembering her dead sister. She kept pushing Elisa through the crowd, until they made it outside, without a look back.

A couple of the trainees still sitting were left to mull over their words.

Asta, a brown-haired girl with blue eyes murmured, "Interesting...I like her attitude; she reminds me of myself."

However, Cay, who was sitting in the farthest corner, only had contempt for all of them. He refused to fraternize with the stupid little trainees, so he was alone. A scornful laugh escaped through his lips. "Pff, what a goal. Watch as she gets squashed by a Titan on her first day out."

* * *

After a pretty intense first day, the trainees were woken up with the sounds of bells ringing at six a.m.

Melda was already waiting for them in the mess hall to give them orders. "Alright listen up, you lazy cockroaches! Today, you'll have your first lecture about Titans. After a few classes, you'll be doing a small exam to separate the big wimps from the wimps! Those who have less than half the score will be send back to field work!"

Almost every trainee sighed in despair. The last thing that they wanted to do was listening about Titans and the techniques behind mastering the 3DMG.

Hearing so much whining made a vein pop out of Melda's neck. She hissed loudly to silence the trainees, "Stop crying, useless brats! You'd better be on your best, because we're having a high-ranking officer from the Scouting Legion here with us to help whip your weak asses into becoming real soldiers! Be ready in thirty minutes! Dismissed!"

* * *

**Richard's POV**

The second day as a trainee, and I'm already spending my time sitting around, listening to some boring lecture about Titans... "Damn, this is so boring. I want to get out here..." I muttered to myself quietly.

I couldn't stop sighing in annoyance. I looked around and saw most of the trainees fixated on the Instructor's words. _"It's probably their first time hearing this information."_ I thought to myself.

On my right sat a boy I recognized from the last night. He was one of the Shiganshina boys with all the crazy trainees bombarding him and the other with questions about the fall of the Wall. If I remembered correctly, his name was Antonio.

Then, I looked back, trying to find Xin. She was sitting a few rows behind me, her eyes focused not on the teacher, but on her paper. She was obviously preoccupied and I felt my heart drop a little. There was no way I could reach her, or talk to her, in any form, without getting caught. I looked back to the front, quickly, but turned again. This time, she caught my eye and panicking slightly, I sent her a quick thumbs up and a smile.

Xin blinked, and like last time, her expression softened and she raised her hand slightly in a small wave.

"_Okay, Richard, enough...You don't want to get both of you guys in trouble with the Instructor..."_ I thought, and faced forwards, resisting my urge to turn back to look at Xin.

A few minutes later, my boredom hit me again. Blank sheets of paper were in front of us, so I thought I could have a little fun and hopefully, Melda wouldn't notice. Grabbing one, I started to fold, remembering what my mother had taught me a long time ago. Turns out the first origami she taught me to make was a dinosaur. Origami was something I was pretty good at, I thought. I entertained her with the little figures I made out of paper, because there was nothing else to make toys out of. Just thinking about her made me bite my lip slightly. _"I miss her so much...I hope she's okay",_ I thought, touching the tiny, red bandanna she gave me.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed two pairs of eyes looking at me. One was the guy named Antonio and by his death glare, he was not happy I was making origami. _"_

"_He's probably mad 'cause he wants to pay attention, but origami is obviously a lot better..."_ I ended up ignoring him and continuing on.

But the other eyes were from a blonde-haired girl to my right. She was looking not really at me, but at the origami dinosaur with a grin on her face. When I faced her slightly, I remembered her face. She was the J.J. girl, the one that was forced to do laps for disrespecting the Instructor.

In her hands, she had already folded something else, not a dinosaur, and I was definitely curious. Leaning over slightly, I realized she had folded a cat. The boring lecture faded into the background and when she held it up, she made an almost inaudible meow to go with it.

I covered my mouth to avoid laughing out loud. The expression on her face, paired with the poorly imitated meow was priceless. Turning, I grabbed my origami and showed it to her, wondering whether or not I should imitate her. But I decided to do it anyway and twisted my face while roaring softly.

She scrunched her eyebrows together and almost curled into a ball from laughter. Her cheeks were pink and I could tell she was struggling to keep it all in. I felt a tap on my right shoulder, so when I turned, I saw Antonio, a lot closer than before. He didn't look very pleased at all.

"Could you stop fooling around? I'm actually trying to learn something here," he hissed rather angrily.

Although I was a bit miffed with being called out, he was right.

"Sorry," I tilted my head down in acknowledgement. "You're right. I'll be quiet now."

He only nodded with a more satisfied expression that made me want to punch him in the face a little. Just a little. _"What an uptight guy...Well, he's probably been through hell and here I am, fooling around. He probably hates me for being cooped up in Wall Sina, living a cushy life..."_

However, I was jerked out of my thoughts when I heard a loud shout from the Instructor. She had stopped her lecture and was standing in front of J.J., her hands on her hips with the entire class staring at her.

_Damn! _Guilt gnawed at me as I realized I indirectly got J.J. in trouble._ "She's gonna get punished 'cause of me..."_

"Oh, it's you again! I see you like running, and you also don't like eating!" The tall woman roared at the blonde girl who just sat there, her head down. By her tightly pressed lips, she didn't dare answer back.

A smirk appeared on Melda's lips. "It looks like there won't be dinner for you today either, and you'll be running—" Before she could finish her sentence, I had decided. I stood up, making the salute, and said without any hesitation,

"Sir! It was my fault...I'm the one to blame, so please punish me instead!" I hoped the look on my face was firm. I could feel the burning gazes of everyone's eyes on me and a little part of me felt regret at my rash decision.

J.J. was looking at me, both surprised and grateful. I wasn't really sure what she was thinking, but maybe she appreciated my gesture. She'd better have, because I'm going to have to run a marathon at this rate.

Melda stalked towards me, her smirk widening into a vicious grin. She stopped in front of me, leaning closer so that I could almost bump noses with her and snarled, "You're the one to blame here, Krieg boy?"

It was obviously a rhetorical question, because she continued, "I see you find my lessons boring." She was staring straight at the origami dinosaur, and in my peripheral, I saw Antonio smirking. My blood boiled.

"Maybe I'll have you burn some of that extra energy of yours with some extra laps on top of the punishment of NOT PAYING ATTENTION! I think you'll make it without food as well!" She roared and turned on her heel, walking back to the center of the classroom.

I could hear snide comments and general murmuring from the event, which only made my mood sour further. I didn't dare raise my head to look at Antonio and the others, let alone J.J., or even Xin. The terrible feeling in my gut was definitely shame; it was probably the first few times I had ever felt this badly.

"_At least I saved her from another harsh punishment, right?"_ I tried to cheer myself up, but I was still silent, until the end of class.

A long day was waiting for me...


	8. Training Camp - Chapter 3

**A/N: Sup guys! Here's a new chapter for you! Thanks to Nebula and Vis help, I was able to come up with this chapter pretty fast. Their ideas for scenes always give me such a good feeling that I just feel pumped up to write some more, so a big thumbs up for them.  
**

**I was asked to release the full OC list by one of my readers. I want to apologize immediatly for breaking up our promise. I didn't released it yet because I fear that if I do that, knowing the authors of the characters, you guys would start asking questions trying to spoil the mistery of the story and that would suck.  
**

**However, if all if you promise me that you will keep it quiet and not spoil anything on the reviews, I'll release the OC list probably tomorrow.  
**

**As always thanks for all your support and I hope you enjoy it! :D**

* * *

**The first week – Part 2**

**Antonio's POV**

The lecture was almost over and I had found it interesting. After that clown got scolded, I couldn't help but feel satisfied; all that guy was doing was interrupting her lesson and he deserved it. But it was a little admirable how he took the shot instead of the other girl.

He had stopped folding those silly paper animals and was now listening to Melda.

"Alright, that's all for today," the female instructor finished her lecture and almost immediately, people were scraping chairs as they got up and chattering with each other.

Melda roared one more time, "Silence, maggots! I want you to gather in front of the mess hall, introduce you to our new assistant for the rest of the training camp. Dismissed!"

She never really announced when there would be an assistant, so I was curious about why she decided to do it now...

I got up and started to walk towards the doorway, while Richard was in front of me, but before he could make it out, she rushed towards him and grabbed him by the ear.

"Where do you think you're going, Krieg?! You'd better start running now! And you're only allowed to stop once its nightfall!" I watched their exchange with a little bit of contempt. He sighed with a look of either shame or guilt, I couldn't put my finger on it.

"_Well, serves him right. If he keeps fooling around and actually makes it through the training camp, his attitude could get someone killed."_ I thought to myself as the brown-haired boy started his punishment. _"He helped me and Jeorge before, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a little slacker."_

I rolled my eyes and made a noise of scorn.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him shoot me a glare.

* * *

Obeying Melda's command, I headed right to the front of the mess hall and joined the formation.

As I stood there waiting for her and the new assistant to arrive, I began to get impatient. My foot began to tap the floor in annoyance. _"Damn, why's there so much suspense about this?"_ I asked, but I obviously knew there would be no answer.

From my view, I finally saw Melda walking out with a woman beside her. With hay-colored hair and a serious expression, I recognized the athletic person beside the instructor.

I blinked in disbelief. _"Wait a second isn't that Dani!?"_ I thought.

Melda cleared her throat and shouted, "Listen up, cockroaches! Here with me, we have Danika Horton, one of the best soldiers we have and she'll be with us until your tiny asses graduate."

Hearing this all the trainees began to whisper between each other, rumors already spreading. _"Well their reaction is normal, after all she's probably the best soldier I have met... Wait a second why is she here-"_Before I could finish my thoughts, Danika started talking, presenting herself to the trainees.

"Hey, 104th squad! It's an honor to be here and I'll do my best to make you all good soldiers. But don't think I'll make it easy for you. Just like Melda, I don't like fooling around!" She made a small pause to breathe out and continued, "Well this is for now, go on and enjoy your break before the next lesson."

I let most of the people walk back to the mess hall before deciding to go and talk to Danika. I wanted to know what she was doing here. In fact, I had thousands of questions for her, since I haven't seen her for a month or so.

I rushed towards her and, without thinking, I shouted louder and more enthusiastically than I wanted it to be: "Dani! It's been so long. What are you doin-"

When she heard her name, her face snapped towards me and her expression became stone cold. But then, she began to look around with a desperate look on her face.

She quickly put her hand over my mouth to silence me. "Shhh! Don't act so familiar in front of other people! Before you ask, I'm here on a special mission from the the Commander."

Hearing this, I almost panicked. I didn't know how to react, so I tried to cover it up. I quickly straightened up, made the salute, and trying to sound as detached and natural as possible, I said, "I'm sorry, ma'am!"

Her face expression changed again and she started to bite her lower lip and her eyebrows started to narrow. Unfortunately for me, I recognized that I screwed up big time and that she was mad. No matter what, narrowed eyebrows are not good signs...

She looked me right in the eye with a cold expression and said, "What did you just call me, trainee Antonio?" Before I could answer, she continued, "Do I look like an old hag to you?"

Her voice was so cold that I didn't know how to react, again. Panic welled up inside of me and I couldn't help but begin to ramble, "I-I didn't mean to offend you, Danika, I'm sorry! Really, really sorry, I didn't mean to at all, I mean, I didn't know you didn't like, I-I didn't mean to call you a hag...?" The words poured out of my mouth and I was so focused with that that I didn't notice Danika trying to hide a small smile.

"Hmm... I know a good way to get you to learn some manners, trainee. Join Richard in his laps," she ordered, trying to act as authoritarian as she could. I could see the corner of her lips twitching though, as if she was joking. However, when I paused to see if she would take back her order, she stared at me with raising eyebrows.

I sighed in defeat, realizing that there wouldn't be any way to worm out of the laps. "Yes, Danika!" I replied firmly, and began to run around the training camp grounds.

* * *

A few laps later, I caught up with Richard. He was probably well ahead of me in terms of laps, but he was tired. His face was blotchy with sweat and his hair was slick against his head. His shirt was clearly stuck to parts of his body, but I felt mine also soaking with my own sweat. I was actually surprised that he was doing his laps. I took him as a guy that wasn't serious about anything. _"Looks like he can also be serious. I thought he'd be the kind of guy to hide or fool around..."_

I ran beside him unconsciously and when he noticed me, his serious expression changed into a stupid grin that made my blood boil. _"Okay, forget what I just said. He's an idiot!"_

He looked at me and opened his mouth to speak. "Um...I thought," pants broke up his sentence, but I understood, so I didn't tease him about it. "Why're you...here? You were really...serious, and now...Look at you, running beside the clown...ha ha..." I didn't even notice his sarcastic tone.

I sighed and answered him without thinking, "I called the new assistant ma'am, and she got really mad at me and asked me if she looked like an old hag." My hand rose unconsciously and passed through my red hair. It was really wet, but with the heat and consistent wind blowing, it actually felt pretty nice.

Richard took a double-take and stumbled, with his cheeks puffing up.

"R-really?!" He asked me, his voice sounding pinched, as if he was holding his urge to laugh. I nodded with a troubled frown, but all he did was explode with laughter.

"Dude, how can you be so clueless?! You totally made her feel old! You can't say that to a girl, c'mon," He was laughing so hard that he started crying and wiped the tears away.

I kept running in silence, his words sinking in. Yeah, Richard was stupid most of the time, but he was probably right. She was like an older sister, or something like that, to me, and I probably just offended her. If he kept making fun of me, I wouldn't have snapped at him; I was surprisingly down about this...

The rest of the running was mostly silent. I saw him throwing glances around in-between pants. At one point, there was a girl with brown hair that watched us run for a couple of laps. As we passed, Richard raised a hand and his face broke out into a grin.

She didn't say anything, but she waved with the slightest of smiles on her lips, before walking away. It wasn't as if she could do anything, so something as simple as that was smart.

When the sky darkened considerably and the stars started to shine, our faces broke out in satisfied smiles. Both of us had passed the point of exhaustion, so much that our legs had been mechanically moving without our consent. Everything burned: my legs, my arms, my face, especially my lungs. We fell to the ground, exhaling strongly.

Richard was facing the ground, but I heard him snickering. As he turned his head, he cracked, "Look at you, you're not only as boring as an old woman, you also run like one!"

I was so done with his teasing, but I was tired, so the only thing I could bite back was, "Pfft, look at you, can't even stand up!"

"That's my line, you're barely alive," A grin broke out on his face.

"Don't be stupid. You'll be the one dying without food tonight. Better stay there on the ground to rot away like a piece of meat," I said.

He laughed and replied, "Don't be ridiculous! I'm totally fine, can't you see me stargazing?" The most serious expression spread on his face, although most of his body was facing the ground. The idiot actually made me want to laugh, but I wasn't ready to admit to that. I was about to answer him when someone cut into our discussion.

"Am I interrupting your pleasant chat?" Melda and Danika were standing over us, weird looks on their faces. _"Darn, they probably saw us talking and running slowly..."_ I didn't want to get punished again!

Richard only looked up and answered, "No, sir! I was just accompanying Antonio, as he seemed a bit tired." His voice was completely formal and my mouth fell open. He lied with such a straight face and straight tone that it was almost mind-blowing. When I was plumb tired, I could barely speak.

However, the two women only exchanged looks. Danika said, "Get up. Take a shower and off to bed, you two."

We both gathered all our strength and got up. Both of us straightened out our clothes, my black shirt, and for him, his jacket, and dragging our exhausted bodies, we made our way to the dormitory.

Behind us, Melda and Danika lagged behind, discussing what they saw. She turned to Melda and said with a small smile, "Those two are pretty special, don't you think?"

The instructor only scoffed and replied, "I guess they have potential. Let's hope it doesn't get wasted."

* * *

**Normal POV**

On the third day of small tests, the trainees were supposed to show their skills in hand-to-hand combat situations.

Melda was already evaluating the kids, along with Danika's help.

Most of the kids were not really experienced in fighting. Since most of them had a peaceful life so far. The rest that had learned how to fight probably had done it with their parents or in classes. But the rare few had honed their skills so well through actual application that it showed ridiculously.

Two pairs stood out for their strength and agility, but they were lacking in skill: Aksel, Samuel, Jeorge, and Cain.

Cay stood out solely for the strong punches that felt like his opponent was being rammed with a wood log. His arms were ridiculously muscular, the veins in his hands bulging. Kaspar was also a good fighter, but he didn't have a sound strategy; it was clear he only relied on his agility and brute force. Iosif, despite his strong and well-built body, wasn't a good fighter. His height only made his moves messy, which made him have a lot of problems with hitting smaller, faster targets.

Some of the girls really stood out. J.J., of course, wasn't taking the training very seriously. However, she seemed competent enough to defend herself against Emelia. The blonde girl was a completely different person when fighting. Her naturally timid, blue eyes went dead and her sweet smile turned sadistic. It was clear she was enjoying herself, but her grin wasn't as wide as it should've been. J.J. was holding out rather well against the speedy striker.

Xin was paired with Asta, a rather entertaining pair to watch. Both girls were equally matched in terms of skill, but they were masters of their own types of fighting style. It was almost like a dance. Asta was clearly more aggressive, as it was mostly her making the initiative. However, Xin was clearly adept at defense and exploiting weak spots and balance problems. Asta was repeatedly thrown off-guard and struck, but the girl recovered in an instant and hit back with equal force.

Rose and Elisa were also the ones that stood out. The dark pink-haired girl was notorious for her techniques, due to her high levels of strength and speed. Although Elisa was weaker than her, her inability to back down and reckless attitude made it a fight worth watching. No matter how many times the girl was struck down, she stood back up, her face coated in dust and grime, and bull-rushed her again.

However, two trainees were missing.

Melda looked around, her expression somewhat infuriated, eyebrows narrowed and her foot tapping the ground. "I can't believe those two! They're probably still asleep after that small punishment."

Danika grimaced internally and tried to calm the instructor down. She honestly didn't want Antonio to be punished again. "They're probably just late," she said. Right after she said that, she spied the two rushing towards the premises. She covered a laugh with a cough when she saw that one of their pants wasn't zipped up all the way yet. "See, there they are," she said, pointing the two kids. At least he got his pants zipped up correctly.

Their faces sagged with exhaustion.

As they drew up to the area, they looked around, trying to find a sparring partner, but they were the only ones left.

Antonio sighed in annoyance and muttered, "I can't believe I'm paired up with this idiot again." The six-hour run had made his seriousness and maturity evaporate; his temper was about to explode.

On the other hand, Richard wasn't even paying attention. He was yawning, stretching his arms and trying to keep his eyes open. But when he watched the trainees sparring, J.J. and Xin caught his attention.

"W-whoa! She's actually pretty good at fighting, considering her opponent!" Richard blinked in astonishment, watching the blonde girl defend herself against the small demon.

Xin's smooth fighting with Asta made his jaw drop open. It didn't even seem like a normal sparring match; it was more like a choreographed dance between two elegant fighters. "I-I'm actually friends with...with badasses...!" He closed his jaw with difficulty, and turned towards Antonio.

"But I'll have to put up with this granny..."

The red-haired boy's eyebrows narrowed at his words, but he didn't speak, until he shouted, "C'mon, lazy ass! Let's start!"

Richard just crossed his arms behind his head and yawned again. "Naw, man. Do it yourself, I'm pretty tired, you know?" He began to turn around to sit under a tree near them. "It's not like I need to train in hand-to-hand. It'd be a waste of my time, so I should just rest up...-"

Before he could finish, he heard footsteps and felt the air of an oncoming attack. Spinning around he blocked the palm hit that was coming for his back. For a moment, Antonio's eyes widened, but he jumped back with an angrier expression.

"You should let people finish talking. How rude. You should accept people and their faults. Also, loosen up or you're gonna have that pinched look on your face forever."

Antonio's patience snapped.

His fists clenched tightly and he ground his teeth. "You're just a spoiled, lazy brat, living inside Wall Sina. I bet you did nothing but fool around your entire life in your cushy, little home," Antonio spat out. His words were absolutely venomous as he lunged towards Richard again.

Although his hits were strong, they were messy from rage and the brown-haired boy bypassed most of them with no problem. _"He knows nothing about me. Probably mad 'cause he hates careless people."_ With his thoughts, Richard's lips turned up into a sarcastic grin.

That face pissed Antonio off even more. "Keep that attitude of yours and you'll get all of us killed!" He shouted. Careless behavior spawned mistakes, and mistakes meant dying comrades. That was the worst, and Richard wasn't even affected by his yelling.

But the red-haired boy knew who to target after yesterday.

Pinpointing the girl with the strange bangs that he saw last night, Antonio pointed at Xin, who was now taking a break. Even her normally calm and serious face was twisted with exhaustion and sweat shone at her brow. His voice had died down into a low hiss as he spat, "Let's see if you find it funny when your friends die in your arms 'cause of you...Or how about your family when the Titans get past all the walls?!"

The smile was gone from Richard's face. Caught off-guard, his eyes were almost blank as his face was wiped into a cold, unfeeling expression, imaging situations of helplessness. His little sister, screaming, as a Titan plucked her from the house, and him, unable to stop the large beast as her face would be swallowed up by teeth. Xin, her legs missing and her lips stained with blood, in a fist of a Titan, screaming for help, for anyone to help, but he would be unable to save her.

With the chance, Antonio grinned in satisfaction. He finally landed a solid hit against Richard, throwing him back a couple of feet. The brown-haired boy dug his feet into the ground. His eyebrows were narrowed, his eyes fiery instead of blank. That hit made him cringe, but he was stronger than that.

Richard stepped forwards, but as Antonio made his moves to engage him, the brown-haired boy side-stepped, twisting to the side to throw a fast and powerful kick aimed at Antonio's head. Taekwondo really did help him after all.

It only clipped the side of the red-haired boy's head, but Richard recovered faster than him and aimed a palm-strike into Antonio's side. Letting out a cough, the boy took several steps backwards to avoid Richard's next hit.

Both of them were panting slightly.

Antonio scoffed, but he was surprised that the rich boy could actually fight decently. Adrenaline pumped in his veins. He wanted to see what Richard could really do.

Rushing towards him, Antonio anticipated the side-step this time and grabbed the leg that was rising up, twisting his body to shift Richard's balance and throw him on the ground. However, the other boy had grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in, their entire central control thrown off.

Both of them slammed onto the hard ground and they both let out a grunt of pain.

"S-shit," Richard muttered, untangling himself out of the mess.

By now, the resting trainees had stopped to watch the boys fight. Xin's head was tilted to the side with a mildly surprised look.

"He's actually quite good," she blinked rapidly and some part within her hoped that he would win the redhead.

Others were commenting on how strong Antonio's punches were. Danika, who was worried that the red-haired boy would be hurt, decided not to interfere. The two instructors were surprised by the two young boys and decided to let things roll their own path. And like everyone else, they were also curious as to how strong they would be.

Both boys traded kicks and punches, Richard with the kicks and Antonio throwing the punches, but judging by the sweat and their panting, they were both running low on energy.

At the last moment, Richard's leg smacked into Antonio's body as the red-haired boy's fist hooked him in the torso.

They fell back from the impact, spread-eagled on their backs.

As they struggled to their feet, they looked at each other and their angry expressions morphed into grins that showed more than rivalry. They had acknowledged each other at last.

"Not bad for lazy scum," Antonio panted.

Richard shot him a cocky smile and huffed, "Yeah... You weren't that bad for an old grumpy."

With that, both of them collapsed on the ground.

Snapping out of it, Melda quickly clapped her hands and shouted, "Alright, all of you lazy peasants! I don't want any screwing 'round, so you better keep practicing!"

J.J. let out a whine of discontent as Emelia sprang up with a devilish gleam in her eye.

The tall woman walked to the collapsed boys and shouted, "You two again!? You do love each other, don't you? Well, let's make a deal... I'll let you rest for an hour and you'll do some more laps for two hours, what'cha think?" She asked, or more like affirmed, grabbing both of the boys by their collar.

Richard forced a smile and answered, "Sir, it does sound amazing sir! Thank you so much!"

Hearing his sarcastic retort, Melda frowned angrily and slapped his head. "If it does sound that good, then get to it!" She shouted letting both of them fall on the ground. The boys stood up shakily and headed to the dormitory with pained expressions.

* * *

A few hours later, the two boys were once again fulfilling their punishment: two days in a row, running around the training camp grounds for more than an hour.

"I can't believe I got stuck running around with this jackass again," Antonio muttered to himself, while sighing in boredom. "Well, I do have to apologize for talking shit about his friends and his family. I went a bit too far and I just exploded..." He felt guilt rise up bitterly in his throat and glanced periodically at the brown-haired male beside him. He wasn't sure how to approach it at all, apologizing to the clownish boy.

"Hmm? Did you say something, grumpy?" The brown-haired asked in a teasing way, trying to make fun of the boy.

Antonio decided to ignore his comment and said without making eye contact, "Sorry."

Without an explanation, Richard already understood what he meant.

He shook his hand like it was nothing big and said, "Don't sweat it. You were pretty right when you said that. I'm pretty childish, I guess, but the last thing I want is letting people I love die." A serious expression overcame his normal features, a fraction of the seriousness Antonio had seen earlier that day. Suddenly he changed and a silly grin spread over his face, as if trying to cover himself up.

"Well, I'm surprised you could tell I was friends with Xin," Richard joked around.

"Who wouldn't have noticed? Yesterday, she waved at you and you grinned at her with that idiotic grin of yours!" Antonio shot back and the other boy only let out a chuckle.

"An idiot wouldn't have noticed, which is why I was surprised!"

"Tch..."

An almost comfortable silence crossed over them. Richard wasn't really willing to break it, but he decided to open himself up a little. "Just so we're clear, I do have goals, alright?"

"Oh?" Antonio made a snarky noise that prompted the brown-haired boy to continue.

"I made a promise with my little sister. Someday, I'll free humanity and I'll show her the outside world," Richard's eyes took on a dreamy look and his other arm rose to gently touch the red bandanna around his arm.

Antonio was quiet for a few moments, until he spoke up, "I guess we're similar with our goals then. I want to free humanity and...avenge my parents..." He felt his eyes burn, from sadness or anger, he didn't know. The emotion within him was so clear though.

Both of them didn't know how to continue and the silence from earlier turned awkwardly tense.

Until Richard suddenly held out his fist as they loped around the buildings and shouted, "Hey, I'll help your grumpy ass, so don't you worry!"

From within Antonio, a genuine laugh bubbled up and he fist-bumped him back, replying, "Hah, sure. And I'll make sure your lazy ass doesn't get eaten by a Titan when we go out."

Both of them wouldn't admit it, not to anyone in the world and especially to themselves, but they began to share a mutual respect for each other. And sure as hell, they wouldn't call each other friends at all.

Even if they acted like it.


	9. Training Camp - Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, here is the fourth chapter!**

**I'm sorry that it took me so much time to release it, but I've been busy with college stuff. To compensate your waiting I decided to make this chapter a long one.  
**

**With that being said I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think :D  
**

* * *

**The first week – Part 3**

**Normal POV**

The first week of the brutal testing for the 104th Trainee Squad was almost at its end. Today would be their last day before their real training started.

Many kids had already left the Training Camp due to the excessive amount of physical effort, or because of their lack of competence. However, more would drop, because of the last evaluation: 3DMG balance.

The instructors would all watch as trainees were lifted by straps using a mechanical device provided by the science headquarters. Whether or not they could balance would give Melda all the information she needed to evaluate their aptitude for future 3DMG use.

Everyone was standing in front of three large, metallic objects, waiting for the Instructor's orders. A quiet murmur was going through the crowd of students, all of it referring to the last evaluation. Some were nervous, others were excited, and the loners were silent.

Melda clapped her hands firmly, attracting everyone's attention, and shouted, "Maggots! I want you to divide into three groups and line up in front of each one of these objects. Now!" In fear of being punished, they all rushed to one contraption and quickly lined up.

"Alright, I want you to help the first trainee of each line get strapped in with those ropes. Make sure they're tight, or I'll whip all of you! When we lift your tiny, little asses, you'd better be able to maintain balance! The ones that can't do this will be bait for Titans!"

Although both Instructors loathed this evaluation, it was the easiest way for the two to spot the talented ones and separate them from the ones that couldn't become anyone useful to the defense of the Walls.

The ones that stood out from the rest in Melda's attention were Richard and J.J. They were both enjoying themselves too much during this training, it seemed, and Melda murmured angrily, "Damn those two clowns. Always fooling around." Hearing this, Danika tried to ease the situation.

"At least they're okay at it, right?" She stifled her laughter, watching as the brown-haired boy wagged back and forth, as if on a swing, while the short-haired blonde was screaming in joy as she made a few jumps in the air.

Melda facepalmed, but eventually ignored them, continuing to assess the rest. A few of the trainees already had the balance all sorted out. Her eyes brightened slightly as she scribbled something on her board as her angry expression changed into one of satisfaction.

Antonio, Xin, Cay, Jeorge, Cain, Rosaline, and Samuel were among those. Antonio had wobbled at first, but in the end, he managed to swing around with his eyes bright. Xin was so still that she balanced perfectly, but when told to move, it was clear she was slightly afraid of heights, while Cay struggled in the beginning, but managed to not fall down. Cain, Rosaline, and Samuel were all seemingly comfortable with the whole aspect of balancing on ropes. Others were alright, keeping balance for a little over a few seconds, but there were others that fell on their heads, or were just hanging from one side.

Those would be the ones to be kicked out.

Before reaching the last group, Melda noticed a small girl with wavy, blonde hair that also was completely at ease with the 3DMG.

Turning to Danika, she said, "Who's she? I've never noticed her until now..."

Danika checked up the files in her hands and said, "Alina Adler. From Shiganshina. I've noticed she normally hangs around the boys and likes climbing trees, so maybe that's why she's pretty good at it."

Hearing this, Melda let out a chuckle and then shouted to Alina, "Good technique, trainee! I'll call you Monkey Girl from now on!" Alina's emerald eyes blinked in surprise after hearing the weird compliment, but then a proud smile broke on the girl's face and she nodded, thanking her for the praise.

At the end, the harsh instructor was seemingly pleased with her own efforts. They were the most apt out of all the trainees she had advised throughout her career._ "Hmm, not bad for a bunch of lazy kids."_ Melda thought to herself while concluding her last analysis.

She was tough, but she was proud to be able to train skilled kids into becoming strong soldiers.

* * *

Physical exercises went by quickly.

The trainees finally were past the last physical test of the week. Now, the only thing they needed to worry about was the result of the written test they had took earlier.

Since they had been attending lectures all week, the camp teachers assured that they would be testing intelligence as well. If they expected to be good soldiers, they needed to not be stupid and know at least the basics of the curriculum.

Danika took lead now, as she shouted, "Listen up! We've concluded the basic 3DMG tests. The ones who got accepted, please meet us at the classroom after the lunch break!"

Some of the trainees froze at their spots. Worried expressions spread on almost every trainee's face.

It would be the last approval they needed in order to continue their goal to graduate.

* * *

**Elisa's POV**

The lunch break went by so quickly, I didn't even notice it. To say the least, I was very anxious. I just wanted to get a decent score to pass this week's test.

"_I won't fail now...I'm not weak! I want to kick some Titan ass, dammit!"_ I thought, trying to convince myself that everything would be okay. I absolutely needed to continue my training, so that I would be able to avenge my fallen town.

I stood up, straightening my coat, and began to walk towards the classroom. When I arrived, there were many trainees making a line, waiting to enter. Most of them were talking about how the test went and what scores they thought they would get. After hearing the rumors, my palms started sweating again. I could feel my legs starting to shiver, so I fidgeted from side-to-side, hoping they would stop shaking.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my left shoulder. It was Rosaline, the girl I met the first night. I really liked her; she was nice and she stood up for me in the beginning. Plenty of times, she's pulled me back from getting in trouble, so I was really thankful. She looked at me and gave me a kind smile, the one she always gave me.

"Calm down, Elisa. You'll pass for sure, so no need to worry," she whispered, and I felt myself calming down a little.

I replied playfully, "Yeah, you're right. Maybe I'll do better than you this time!"

With a pat, she said, "That's the Elisa I know!"

But after that, she withdrew back into her position in line and silence reigned over us again. I wouldn't call us friends, outside the normal context. We were really close, but not in the traditional sense of friends. We enjoyed each other's company, but we only communicated when it was key, normally through short phrases. Sometimes, we would meet each others' eyes and just look at each other. No words were really needed to convey our feelings. Although she was rather protective, it felt good to have someone beside me.

"_It's not like I'm weak. I just like having someone to depend on when I need it..."_ I thought as my line marched into the classroom.

Well, this was it. Everyone was already seated and the entire atmosphere was tense.

Melda shouted, "Cockroaches, listen up! I'm gonna' call you in descending order. For those who don't know the normal grading system, the highest grade is an A and the lowest is an F. The ones with F's will be sent back!"

Instinctively, my foot began to tap. Anxiety flooded my brain again, but from beside me, I noticed Rose. I felt a hand creep over to mine and envelop me in a tight, but reassuring grip.

As long as I had her, I think I would be alright.

* * *

**Normal POV**

The chit-chat was getting to Melda. With an angry expression, she whistled and yelled, "Enough babbling, ladies! I'll be calling the smartest of you runts first."

Shuffling a couple of papers, she continued, "Krieg, Tien, and Nash, come forward!"

Gossip broke out over everyone as the three names were called. When the trainees noticed that Richard was first to be called, some of their jaws dropped to the ground.

Antonio looked at the spiky-haired boy and thought, _"Well, he's not just an ass then...A smart-ass..."_

Samuel, who was next to Richard, gave him a friendly smile, congratulating him for his good score. He had been friends with Richard through Antonio. Cain reacted instantly as well, flashing him a thumbs-up and a wide smile. "_He's so cool."_ Cain thought excitedly. _"He's not only funny, he's also smart!"_

Melda still looked mad though. In her hand, she began to curl one of the tests. Quickly approaching Richard, she gave him a smack with it on the head.

"Krieg, congratulations on the assessment. Seems like you have some brains in that empty skull of yours! Now, tell me, why didn't you answer one of the questions?"

Richard quickly saluted and stammered, "T-thanks, sir! Um..I-I think I forgot to answer...that one?" The brown-haired boy said, or rather, asked himself, since he couldn't remember what he had done.

Almost everyone burst out laughing. A snicker escaped his mouth, but Xin, who was now next to him on their own separate table elbowed him, effectively killing his laughter. Richard straightened up with a serious look, eyeing the mad instructor.

She sighed in annoyance and only said, "I take that back, then. You still have nothing in that skull of yours, Krieg. Girls, great job."

Xin and Rose colored from the straight compliment. It had been the first they had received without any twists.

"To get this over with faster, I'll call the B's and the C's all at the same time. Jeorge, Antonio, Alberto, Jessica, Emelia, Elisa, and Iosif! Forward!" Melda roared and the trainees shuffled to the front, sighing in relief.

Alberto smiled, happy at being able to one day, join the Scouting Legion and protect others from horrible accidents. He was tanned, with dark-brown eyes and black hair in a military cut. Just like any other standard trainee.

Before handing out their tests, Melda spoke, "Keep up the good work, brats." Congratulations spread over the students as they milled together on their way back to the desks.

"Lastly, Asta, Samuel, Kaspar, Cain, Cay, and Aksel." They were the last trainees, with the exception of some. However, despite their almost failing grades, they could still continue their training.

Melda looked at them disgustedly, before spitting out, "You better show more work in the future, lazy brats! I won't accept any more shitty scores from now on."

All of them flinched. Even Cay, despite his strong build and constantly angry expression. But they all saluted and nodded.

She then shooed them to their respective places, then said to the remaining students, "If your name wasn't called, you'll be dismissed. Head to the main building and wait for further orders."

Danika now stepped forwards and took the lead. "Listen up, guys! You'll be free for the rest of the day—" Before she could finish, the trainees began to sigh in relief and celebrate. She coughed to silent them and with a more serious expression, continued, "But! Before that, we'll divide you into groups that will be used during the training until your graduation. I'll announce the groups..."

The blonde looked at Melda and she nodded for the woman to continue. "Right now."

"First team! Elisa Peters, Asta, and Rosaline Nash!" Elisa and Rosaline excitedly grabbed each other, the first time they had ever made such happy faces. They exchanged high fives, while Asta just smirked, acknowledging the two girls as they headed outside.

"Second team! Xin Tien, Jessica, Antonio Rodrigues...and...Oh, Richard Krieg!"

Richard jumped up in celebration, a wide smile on his face. "Yeah! High-five, guys!" He turned to J.J., who, just as excited as he, gave him a solid high-five. Xin, unsure of what a high-five was, blinked before raising her hand awkwardly. Richard high-fived her and patted her on the head. Antonio straight out refused to partake in his silliness and scoffed.

"Too bad grumpy's on my team too. I'd totally like to be just on a team with just cool people!" He sighed, but then looped an arm over Antonio's shoulder. The redhead grimaced and attempted to push the other off, but to no avail.

Danika laughed, then pushed them all outside. "Discuss your marriage problems outside!" She teased, internally sighing at their antics.

"Third team: Jeorge Adalia, Cain Murrik, Emelia Orr, and Samuel Windle!" Cain almost jumped in joy and quickly ran to his teammates, enveloping them all in a forced group hug. Some of them were squished together and much to Emelia's embarrassment at being the only girl in her team. She was blushing like a tomato.

"Fourth team, Iosif Blanchett, Alberto Mejia, Alina Adler, and Kaspar Bauer!" All of them exchanged quick greetings and introductions, before falling silent.

* * *

Only four trainees were left, now. Danika looked at them and said, "You guys will be the last group: Emma Muller, Aksel Iversen, Cay Endresen, and Alice Blanc." As soon as that was announced, Cay left the classroom silently without trading a word with his new teammates. Alice, a small, black-haired girl, made her way to Emma and Aksel. A bright smile on her face, she greeted both of them with, "Hi! I'm Alice, I hope we'll be good friends."

Aksel and Emma both nodded and began chatting with each together.

Aksel leaned in and whispered, "That Cay guy sure is a moody one, right?" Both girls nodded sadly.

However, before they could continue, Melda approached them and shouted, "Enough whispering around, maggots! Get out of my sight before I make you do some running!"

The trainees went pale, thinking of her harsh punishments. They straightened up and apologized, before running out of the door like fleeing rabbits.

Now that the classroom was empty, Danika faced Melda. She spoke, concernedly, "I hope the Commander's idea works. Everyone should...be able to work well with their groups..."

Melda waved her hand unimportantly. "Relax. Everything will be fine. Chief planned this all beforehand, after all. And everyone knows that he's the best at planning."

Danika nodded. Until now, she had always trusted all the crazy decisions the Commander made. What made now so different?

* * *

**Military Police headquarters**

A tall man, with a grayish-colored hair and golden eyes was making his way through the main door of the Military Police headquarters. Slicked back and slightly spiky, his hair was unique from the rest of the higher-ranking military officers. He was wearing the normal military uniform, but without the brown coat. Instead, he wore a black trench coat, with the Scouting Legion emblem on the back.

He was also wearing an emerald medallion around his neck; it was the trademark of the military commanders.

He was the 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, going by the name Maxwell Steel.

Maxwell knew the building already, like the back of his hand. He was looking for the science laboratory. When he arrived at the door, he knocked gently three times, but received no answer.

The man sighed in annoyance and decided to enter anyway. Once inside, he found the person that he was looking for. Tia Ealdwine. The woman was so engrossed with her paperwork that didn't even noticed that she had a guest. Her nose was almost touching the paper, but a wide smile was on her face.

She was wearing her lab coat with a green scarf around her neck. The woman was slim and small and had a short, light brown hair.

Maxwell made a coughing sound to get the woman's attention and said, "Tia, long time no see."

At hearing the man's voice, she jerked backwards, almost falling off the stool, turning to greet him. "Oh, Chief Max, thank God you're finally here! I've some amazing information for you!" Her green eyes beamed with curiosity and joy, a side of her that only got excited around groundbreaking research.

"Well, if you hadn't left us, you could've saved us both a lot of time," Maxwell's sarcastic tone made the young woman sigh.

"C'mon, Chief, you know the reason I left the Legion. Lack of money and equipment...I wouldn't have been able to do my research at all!" His complaining made a small, familiar smile twitch on her lips. She covered her eyes with her bandaged hands, trying not to get mad at him.

"You know I'm trying to do my best. I did those two favors you asked of me, too," she deadpanned. "You're indebted to me."

Maxwell knew she was right. He sighed, defeated, and replied, "You're right. But I hope one day, you'll come back to us. You were invaluable in combat, you know."

Tia nodded in agreement to what the Commander said. It was not a lie that she preferred her times as a Survey Corps member, but her situation now was not bad either. It wasn't a lie that she didn't care a bit for the other members of her team, but she was on good terms with the new Military Police commander.

She decided to speak up before Maxwell started to complain, "About that experiment, I think it went just fine."

She pointed at a small paper box that was shaking slightly. Holes were cut crudely through it. "I think we'll be able to know if it's a success or a failure soon, but it depends on how well-prepared and well-cared it will be."

Maxwell walked to the box and opened it. Inside was a Siberian husky puppy with a full white fur. With its smaller size, it was probably still young. However, it was still bigger than a normal puppy.

When the commander was about to close the box, the puppy almost jumped out. Maxwell was able to close the box in time and the dog instantly began to give a few weak howls, showing its discontent.

The commander let out a small smirk and said, "Smart one, isn't it?"

Tia nodded in agreement and added, "Had to chase it for an hour and lose precious research time. It was raising hell before. It's real energetic."

Hearing this made the man let out a small chuckle. Before he could say anything, Tia intervened, "So who's going to train him?"

Maxwell's face became serious, his golden eyes calculative. He quickly answered without hesitation, "We'll stick to the plan. We'll send it right away to Danika, and she will deliver it to our trainees' care."

Tia was not sure about this idea, but she did trust the commander's decisions. She rubbed her scarf contemplatively.

Seeing her reaction, Maxwell decided to change the subject. "What about Fabio? Is he gonna' make it?" He asked Tia with a rather concerned look.

Tia nodded with her head and said, "Despite the damage he took on that expedition, he survived through the surgery. He lost his legs, but all the internal organs seem to been working fine." She made a small pause, while she grabbed a few documents and handed them to Maxwell. "I hope he survives all this and that he doesn't regret his choice. It would be a great step for us if everything goes smoothly."

The tall man ran his hand through his hair with an expression that meant he was lost in thought. He approached Tia, looked her in her eyes and said quietly, "Yeah, you're right it'd be fantastic if everything went according to our plans." He made a small pause that let out an impression that was also a downside to this situation. "But, if we screw this up, our heads will be served on a silver plate. So that's why I need you to keep this secret for as long as you can and please keep me updated on any occurrence."

A worried expression came onto Tia's face. She knew how risky it was. Tia groaned and said, "Damn you, Chief, and my stupid curiosity. Hopefully, we don't get into any trouble."

A smirk appeared on Maxwell's face while he walked towards the exit. "It's too late now to get cold feet, Tia, dear. It's a game we need to take risks in."

He opened the door and, before exiting, added with a quick wave, "Don't forget to send the puppy."

* * *

**Antonio's POV**

I was walking back to the mess hall to get my dinner, since Danika asked for an important favor in her office. I sighed, slightly annoyed with my current situation. _"All this fussing and guessing, what'd she ask me to do? To babysit this little, white furball."_

I looked down and saw that the white husky was still trying to keep up with me. I had to admit, it was kind of cute with its messed-up gait, almost tripping over its own feet.

I sighed in defeat and decided to carry him on my arms. Bending down, I scooped it up and held it close to my chest. Surprisingly, it didn't offered any resistance. Instead, it looked like it was enjoying the attention and adjusted itself in my arms with a content pant.

But damn, was the thing heavy. It was big for a puppy, for sure.

Once I arrived the mess hall and picked my seat, I started to receive odd looks. Everyone started whispering, commenting what they saw. No one had ever expected a puppy at the table, whimpering for a bite of my food.

I just tried to ignore them and kept doing my thing, until I saw Richard making his way to my table with a plate in his hands. Next to him, J.J. was walking with a bright smile, chattering away like usual. Xin hung behind them with a more leisurely pace. I still needed to introduce myself to her.

But discomfort roiled in my stomach. Richard's lips were curled up in his stupid, teasing smirk. _"Damn! I'm officially screwed."_

"What do we have here, Grumpy? Did the cute thing think you're its father, with those big, brown, puppy eyes of yours?" He teased me and I sighed, giving him a deadly glare.

"Shut up jackass. Assistant Danika asked me to train the husky, okay?" I shot back. When I looked down, J.J. was already petting the dog, feeding it pieces of the costly meat on her plate. Xin was silent, but by her softer eyes and the small smile on her lips, it looked like she liked dogs. That or she was amused by my current problem.

Suddenly, Richard made a salute, putting down his plate, stating formally, "Worry not, Antonio! I'll help you with that task of yours!" He sounded like he had just jumped out of a medieval story.

I face-palmed and retorted lowly, "Who told you that you could, Richard?"

He let out a cynical laugh and put his hand over his heart in a faux hurt tone, "C'mon, Antonio buddy, you're hurting my feelings, man." He paused and his face changed. "But look, it's better if we all give you hand with this."

I realized he was definitely right. The puppy had eaten all of Jessica's meat and was now slobbering and yipping to try and get Xin's. I watched her defensively pull her tray away with a miffed expression and almost laughed at the childish look on the Asian girl's face.

"I guess. We're in the same group after all."

By now, there were a lot a people grouped around our table, especially female trainees, drooling over the little white dog's cuteness.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cain approaching the dog with a joyful smile. Behind him was Jeorge. A little ways away, Rosaline and Elisa were also curious about the raucous laughter coming from this region.

Asta was also looking at us, her eyes filled with curiosity. Emma, Alina, and Emelia were part of the gaggle of girls drooling over the puppy. Although I couldn't hear them, I was sure they were the loudest out of all the girls.

However, despite the excited giggles, I heard a small, sarcastic scoff. From across my table, the brown-haired boy with a buzz cut stood up with a clatter. _"That was Cay, right? Quiet, stoic, typical bully."_

I wasn't prepared for his snarky remark, though. "Look at you, all happy, just 'cause you survived the first week and that cutie puppy...Don't get in my way with your weak bullshit during training."

Everyone awkwardly stood up, dispersing and slinking away. Some of them looked hurt, while others just looked plain angry. Elisa and Richard were among the latter types. I knew Richard, and that he was ready to punch the shit out of the guy, even if he was double his size. He was biting his lip in anger and his left leg was twitching. But there were people like Xin, who just stared at him with narrowed eyebrows. If I named the look in her eyes, it was probably disdain.

Surprisingly, Elisa was the first one to bite back. "Who do you think you are to talk shit about others? You think you're the instructor, 'cause you better look at yourself!" Rosaline grabbed her waist to pull her back. Her fists flailed in the empty air, but in the short glimpse I had of her face she sure looked pissed.

Richard stood up and shouted, without anyone to hold him back, "You know, screw you! People are stressed out all week, so they need to unwind. Unlike you! You have a stick up your ass or something?" He had a right to be mad, but I couldn't let him get punished yet again.

I grabbed him before he could get close and land a kick on Cay. The guy was just trying to rile us up because he had the slimiest smirk on his face.

"Don't be so mad just 'cause I threw facts at your faces. Disgraces, all of you. To your families, especially!" After leaving us with those bitter words, he turned his back and kept walking away.

The guy had crossed the line. Relating it to family, even I was affected. I bit back tears, but the sad expression filled my face when I thought about my parents.

By now, Richard was even more pissed off. Jessica and Xin were holding him back, but when I looked at their faces, they, too, like me, probably lost someone close to them. I decided to get some fresh air, quickly rushing out of the room. From behind me, I heard footsteps. I didn't know who it was, but I guessed it was Richard.

The husky was still by my side, though. It had somehow escaped the crowd, choosing to follow me. It was whimpering softly.

"Hey...Just ignore what the asshole said."

It was Richard.

I guessed it right, so Xin and Jessica must've been with me as well. I heard Xin's soft voice and her hand on my shoulder. "I know...what it feels like. To lose someone close to you, but although it sounds like...I must be..." She trailed off awkwardly, before finding the courage to continue. "I know it sounds like I'm being pushy, but trying to move on is the best move. I had to do that as well."

Her words almost pushed me to cry, but I held it back. Not even a year ago, my parents had died for sure, and I was still hurting.

Jessica noticed the tension and tried to ease it with, "Let's just ignore the guy and pretend he didn't exist! We have a day to enjoy!"

The blonde girl really had a way to clear the sadness. Her bright voice made it easier for me to hold back the tears and I turned around to thank them all for comforting me. I held out my hand in a handshake.

"Thanks..."

Xin was behind me, and as she grabbed my hand in a surprisingly strong grasp, she leaned closer. Her hair brushed against my face and a unique scent passed through my nose. It was pleasant, to say the least, but what surprised me the most was the light touch against my cheek. She had kissed me on the cheek, but by the unembarrassed look on her face, it was probably her greeting.

But me, I felt a blush creep onto my face. I forced it down with sheer willpower, and then congratulated myself on keeping my composure. However, I stepped away and shook Jessica's hand with a grin.

When I looked at Richard, his expression had changed. A slight narrow of his eyes and the tighter fists alerted me slightly. If I didn't know better, if felt like he would've smacked me around without a warning. But as soon as he noticed me looking at him, he assumed his normal expression, grinning. His smile wasn't as wide, though and I just concluded that he...might've been jealous.

"Guys, I'm gonna' go spend some time with this furball, alright? Or some alone time with him. Gotta' get to know him more than you guys, so you guys just go spend time together, I guess." I teased and all the tension was blown away, like by the wind. My heart was warm, surrounded by people I could depend on.

"See you soon." I called back as I headed towards a tree near the mess hall. It soothed me a lot, for some reason...

As I sat down, I leaned against the tree. The white puppy jumped onto my lap, looking at me with a strangely wise expression. This time, I couldn't resist; a small smile broke on my face and I gave him a pat on the head.

The sound of crunching alerted me to someone coming. Looking up, I saw Danika. I immediately looked back down, a flush spreading over my face. I didn't want her to see my weak expressions, but it was to no avail. She could read me like a book anyway.

"Antonio, what's wrong?" She knelt beside me.

I breathed heavily. "Just...thinking about my parents..."

From her position, she leaned closer, wrapping me in a one-armed hug. "You can't be like this forever, you know. You can remember them...but you're doing it wrong and hurting yourself in the end."

Her big-sister lectures kind of comforted me now. When before, they annoyed me, it felt like I needed them now. She was always right, so I decided not to say anything and only waited for her to continue.

"Why don't you remember the good times with them? Focus only on the good memories and try to forget that sorrowful day. If you don't do that...I'm afraid you'll be guilty forever...and end up doing something stupid, like before."

Her last words hit me like a bee stinger. My nose tingled slightly, the telltale feeling that I was about to tear up, but I bit my lip hard. I couldn't let myself constantly think about that day; I had to focus on the present...and the future.

I felt Danika's gaze on me and the incoming teasing. She would talk about the puppy, wouldn't she? "Looks like you two are good friends," she commented and I continued petting the puppy that was staring at me with adoring eyes. "Did you name it yet?"

I shook my head. "Forgot 'cause of all the mess going on."

She chuckled and said, "Well, we do know it's a boy... Any good names in mind?"

I was silent for a second, lost in my thoughts. A dozen names came into my mind, but then, as if a light bulb was lit in my head, I remembered one that I really enjoyed. Wish I was named that, but my parents thought it was silly, I think.

"Alright, furball. You'll be Atlas, now, okay?" I picked him up in the air and he wagged his tail excitedly.

He gave me a small bark and seemingly smiled. When I put him back down, he jumped around in a circle, almost like a child with a new toy.

With Atlas being happy, and Danika by my side, a sense of warmth flooded over me. The blue sky and the light breeze was almost perfect. A picturesque moment and I just wanted it to be like this forever. _"__Life's not that bad, I think__..."_


	10. Training Camp - Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys, a here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy :D**

**I have been noticing that it might be hard for you guys to review or to give me your opinion without spoiling some details about the story and I also know that it's hard not to start creating some theories for the plot and share them with the other readers.**

**So, in order to get some more feedback from you guys and to thank all the help that Nebula has been giving me, we decided to start a sort of Q&A in the end of the next chapters. **

**The questions will be spoiler free and, if you have some questions that don't involve plot stuff like "Who's the Fire Titan?" leave them in the reviews and I'll answer as best as I can in the next chapters.**

* * *

**Two months later**

**Richard's POV**

Two months of boring training had passed. It was only now that I was getting used to all of it. I regret not putting a lot of effort into getting better before, but now that I was trying harder, I think I'm doing alright.

Whoever decided making groups was amazing, honestly. Or maybe that was because I was paired with the three coolest trainers. Who are also my best friends now...

I shrugged on my casual attire: a black shirt, some beige pants, and my trademark brown boots. Afterwards, I strolled my way to the training grounds. There wasn't a rush because it wasn't Melda doing the training.

The afternoon sun was strong on my exposed skin and we were already dismissed from our duties, so Antonio and a couple of friends, including me, decided to group up and and try to train Atlas. The little bugger was really big now, and his excitement was almost uncontrollably with only one person.

"Richy, wait up!"

I sighed in annoyance, but stopped when I heard J.J.'s voice. _"That damned demon girl! She had to tell J.J. about that nickname, didn't she?" _At least I knew what J.J. stood for in a shorter time than the time it took for her to call me by that infernal name.

When she was younger, she was really outgoing and joyful. People took note of that and called her Jessica the Jokester, which shortened to J.J. It was a cute nickname, unlike Richy... But I almost had to beg for her to tell me her first name.

I turned around and saw Jessica coming in my direction, her steps bouncy and excited. Xin was lagging behind slightly in her usual fashion, choosing to rest her hands behind her head. Their normal outfits matched each of them really well and I couldn't help but stare. The sunlight glinted off of them, making them glow almost ephereally.

Jessica's short-sleeved green shirt and white slacks enhanced her blonde hair and her bright personality a lot. Her black boots almost shined in the light as she walked fast to catch up to me. She was really cute, the way she started waving wildly if someone caught her eye. A lot of people liked her for her bubbly personality, and I really appreciated it too.

Xin, on the other hand, found the most bland clothing: her typical white blouse and beige drawstring pants. But I thought with the plainness of those, it really made her as a person shine. Her tanned skin and slanted eyes really emphasized the pure strain of Oriental blood in her veins. She was the only Oriental girl in our squad, so she really attracted attention. With her calm and cool persona, paired with the oddly comforting presence around her, she was nicknamed, 'The Oriental Beauty.' I couldn't disagree with that.

By the time I realized I was lost in my thoughts, it was too late. I jumped up in surprise when I realized J.J.'s hand was waving in front of my face.

"Richy? You there, buddy?" J.J was really close and I backed up, almost bumping into Xin.

"Hey," she clasped my shoulders tightly. "Careful."

"S-sorry!" I stammered quickly, trying to recover from that fumble. "Was a little distracted, my bad!"

They probably noticed the pink in my cheeks, but I was glad they didn't comment on it.

I shook my head. _"Damn, Richard, what are you thinking?! Stop looking at them like that!" _Teenage hormones were the worst. Really.

Jessica only laughed at the weird reaction, while Xin let go of my shoulders. When she walked next to me, I glanced her way and saw a small smile on her lips. She was more than used to weirdness, I think.

The blonde-haired girl decided to finally speak up and she said, "Xin and I wanna watch the training with Atlas..." She trailed off, but I knew she was just lying. She'd want to do something more than just watch; she's the type to jump right into the fun.

"And...I really wanna play with him more! He's so cute and smart and stuff!" She shouted excitedly, blue eyes filled with joy. If her love for animals wasn't apparent enough, anyone would've guessed it now. She acted just like a kid sometimes, so I couldn't help but smile at her reaction. If just a little bit, I think she reminded me of my little sister.

"I'm just here to watch. Being alone isn't much fun, now," Xin murmured. I could barely catch what she was saying, but I heard it nevertheless. I didn't get to know a lot about her, even though I spent two months training with her by my side. It was mostly about me, now that I realized. Her words made me wonder about her past a little more, but I spied the training grounds just a little ways away from where we were.

* * *

When we arrived, Samuel sitting on the ground. His beige sweater and navy pants were bound to get dirty if he was just there...

By the reddening cheeks on his face, I realized he was trying his best not to laugh at Antonio. Looking directly at the training grounds, I spied Grumpy, running around, his face almost as red as his hair, trying to get Atlas to obey him and stay still. His blue shirt and black pants were brown with all the dirt already and I burst out laughing.

Now that Atlas was really growing fast, it was like that all the time. The darned puppy never listened to our commands, and with that wag of his tail, it seemed like he was enjoying the failed attempts to tame him. But to anyone that was serious, he would look up with those big blue eyes and whimper slightly. Antonio was really susceptible to that, but so was everyone else, including me, so I wasn't blaming him at all.

I groaned with annoyance. _"Gah, why can't they just force him with a leash or something?"_ Internally, I cursed at the silly friends that I had, but then I stopped, eyes widening. "_Damn! I've started to sound like Grumpy..."_ I blamed it on too much contact with the guy.

Soon enough, Jessica joined Samuel in laughing at Antonio, while Xin meandered her way to a wooden bench.

I headed straight for Antonio.

"C'mon, if you're like this, you can't even begin training him! We need to be firm."

He turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, that easy, huh? Why don't you try it, smartass?"

"Well, it's hard adjusting Atlas to a more strict schedule, now. Wonder why..." I shot back, tilting my jaw slightly. Antonio didn't talk but the constant contact of his gaze to mine meant he knew I asked him a rhetorical question.

"Who was the person acting like his mom in the first place?" His annoyed expression didn't change, but he was silent.

In the background, I heard a loud shout of laughter. "Oiii, did you two switch bodies or something? It's funny watching Antonio get scolded instead of Rich!"

Now that I realize it, normally Antonio's the serious one...

Just after Jessica's joke, I heard Samuel's voice chiming in. "You guys kinda look like a married couple...That's funny, but I'm kinda jealous, you know? Wish I had someone like that." His eyes almost pierced Antonio, and the last part was hard to hear.

My face paled. I tried not to think or imagine anything of that and just shouted back, "Dude! _Gross!_ Don't joke around like that or else people are gonna start rumors! I like girls, okay?"

But my backlash was making the situation worse. Antonio was glaring at both me and Samuel, while Jessica and...even Xin was laughing. The Asian girl had her hand pressed to her mouth and even from the distance, I could see the shaking of her shoulders. It was a new side of her that I hadn't seen before. The pink on her cheeks was...kind of cute.

From behind her, a new person strolled in. Blonde hair glinting in the sun, Danika grinned as she walked her way towards us. Atlas bounded towards her when she got closer and she knelt down, ruffling his fur.

"D-did you hear everything?" I heard Antonio stammer and his cheeks were flaring red.

She had an amused smile on her face as well. She probably heard and watched everything that has happened.

Her smile was enough and he turned both pale and dark red, if that was even possible. His facial expression was priceless, though.

This time Antonio almost hided with the embarrassment I noticed how flustered he gets around Danika. He quickly tried to cover it up with a change of subject.

"W-well...Thank God you're here, anyway! Since you take care of Atlas too, why don't you teach us how to make him stay quiet? You do it really well, don't you?" The redhead managed to speak without the constant breaking of his words.

She gave us a weird look and paused before answering, "Well...I'm afraid I don't have a special trick to teach you...It just kind of happens. Maybe...it's my leader-like aura that makes him so submissive." Her voice rose at the end and it was like she was pretending to be a pompous monarch. It made me stifle a chuckle and a small smile was starting to slip onto her lips.

"Well, that's not gonna work. Antonio's too lax on Atlas, and now he won't even listen to us," I complained. Turning towards Antonio, I frowned, "You shouldn't have pampered him so much. You even let him piggy-back ride you all the time."

The redhead sighed in defeat and admitted, "Ugh, okay, I get it. Geez. I went easy on him, but seriously! How can you not baby him a little when he makes _that_ face?"

Before I could talk, Danika intervened with an alarmed expression. "Guys, I don't want to ruin your bromance moment, but...Where's Atlas?" She asked, looking around.

Antonio and I began to look around, a little panicked. But then, we looked up and face-palmed. The redhead concluded, "Atlas must really like annoying us. He climbed up that big ass tree again..." I watched as he started to run towards said tree.

I just shook my head and shouted, "Hey, I'll call Alina to help us get him down from there!"

As I ran in the opposite direction, a frustrated smile broke on my face. Despite the cons, there were a lot of pros. Although Atlas was a pain, since he kept climbing trees he couldn't get down from, he was honestly a very cute, as well as smart, animal. Something that was rare. Animals were rare in general, and I was feeling pretty fortunate that we could experience taking care of a soon-to-be dog.

* * *

After getting Atlas down, the sun was setting. The orange glow of the sky was quite pretty and for a moment, I stopped to stare. When I started to head back to the mess hall, I noticed that Xin wasn't anywhere to be seen. Not at the training grounds and certainly not walking with me. _"She probably got bored of our constant fighting and went back..."_ I thought to myself.

"W-wait up, Richy!" From behind me, I heard J.J.'s voice and in a matter of seconds, she collided into my side with a grin. I just stumbled to the side with a deadpan look on my face.

"Stop it, J.J. You know I don't like that nickname," I rolled my eyes.

She just laughed and gave me a light punch on the arm. Like every other joker, she wasn't gonna let go so soon, but once it ran out of its "funniness" she would stop calling me it.

Before entering the mess hall, I noticed a black-haired boy making his way towards us, or rather, towards Jessica. His name was Alberto, but none of us really talked to him a lot, since he was in a separate team. In the past month, he had managed to ask out almost every blonde girl in the trainee squad, but each time, got rejected. As of lately, he was hanging around J.J. a lot more often, which kind of irked me. It was clear he was flirting and that J.J. had no interest, but she still entertained him...

I gave him a small glare that I hoped he felt. I should ask Antonio how to do his famous "death glares."

To be honest, it's not like I didn't like him. I just couldn't stand the fact that he was trying to get anybody's attention, especially hers. J.J. was a prime target for that kind of behavior, because she was so innocent. She wouldn't turn him down, and I knew that for a fact, because she didn't have a single mean bone in her body.

As Alberto walked closer, the strong stench of cologne wafted towards us. His shirt was newly washed, green in color, almost the same as the one J.J. was wearing, paired with black pants and shiny shoes.

The expression on his face was nervous and it was clear, while Jessica just tilted her head to the side.

"Do...you need something?" Her voice was quiet for once.

Alberto fidgeted for a moment before exclaiming, "H-hey, J.J.. Do you...want to hang out sometime?" His cheeks were flushing red now and his words were slightly accented, but I couldn't name it.

Jessica just blinked. From beside her, I could feel her body tense up and freeze. Then she shifted, moving slightly behind me.

I sighed with annoyance and rolled my eyes yet again. "Hey buddy. Sorry to break it to ya but she's not interested. Can't you see she's hanging out with me? Now, if you would excuse us..." I pushed back the small seed of guilt as I made my way past the sad-looking boy into the mess hall, holding tightly onto Jessica's wrist. It was kind of foreign, the way I acted, now that I realized it. My older brother instinct just kicked in and it came out so easily, as if I was trying to protect her.

In a way, I was. I just didn't want to acknowledge it.

"Everyone's trying to annoy me today, geez," I grumbled. I made sure my eyes were focused down so that people would know not to approach me. Today was not a very good day.

When we got into a quieter part of the mess hall, I realized I was still holding her hand...or technically her wrist. Looking at her suddenly, she met my gaze, then turned her face to the side. I was taken aback by her reaction; it was probably the first time that I had seen her acting demure...and that cute.

Jessica opened her mouth, still not looking at me.

"T-thanks...Rich...for backing me up there," she murmured. But then her shy expression changed into a happier one, and by the glimmer in her eyes, she was about to tease me.

"You sounded like a jealous boyfriend," Jessica giggled and she rubbed her wrist with her other hand. "Can't you see she's hanging out with me?" She repeated what I said, trying to imitate my voice, but then breaking up into laughter.

If I had to say it, the imitation was kind of close. I tried to keep down my laughter and acted cool.

"Yeah, really funny, J.J. Next time, I'll leave you to deal with your fan alone," I replied seriously, keeping up the facade. However, a smile broke out on my face and her laughter only continued. I think these moments kept me sane throughout those two months of training. I _lived_ for these kinds of moments.

She feigned a hurt expression, followed by a mocking, depressed sigh. "Y-you wouldn't do that...right, Richard? We're partners in crime, after all!" The blonde-haired girl held out her fist and I fist-bumped her back, giving up on my cool persona.

Jessica then floundered away from me, spinning once, before looking directly at me, brushing off the curly bangs of her pixie cut out of the way. She hesitantly said with an oddly serious expression, "But...you were kinda cool back there. I didn't know you had that kind of...protective side too. T-thanks." Even with the dim lighting in the section of the mess hall, her cheeks appeared a light shade of pink.

Seeing Jessica embarrassed kind of transferred to me. I couldn't help but blush slightly too.

"U-uh, you're welcome," I said, sounding too formal all of a sudden.

A strange silence fell between us, something that wasn't normal when we were together. Before I could think of anything else, my stomach growled loudly, which made Jessica snort slightly.

"Oh, um, well, looks like I'm hungry and you're...not, so I'm gonna get something to eat!" I started to babble, before I quickly took my escape into the crowd. Thankfully, there were a lot more students now than before, since the dinner bell had rang a couple of minutes before the entire scene with Alberto.

I wonder what the heck happened to me in those moments. Even I didn't know.

* * *

**Normal POV**

The next day was another day of training. But today, Melda and Danika had something different in mind for the trainees, something they had never really done before.

Since they had been training for two months, they already had good experience in hand-to-hand fighting and they knew the fluctuation of different environments after spending a couple of days running in raining forests and the snowy mountains near the camp.

The instructor and the blonde-haired assistant decided to group up all those skills together into a big exercise — a survival game.

She lined up the trainees and began her speech.

"Alright, maggots, listen up! Today, we're gonna explain the survival exercise that Danika and I thought up of. This will happen somewhere between the mountain and the forest zone on the east side of Wall Rose. Its duration will be two days and your goal is to avoid being captured by the other assistants and Garrison members that have volunteered to participate in your training!" Melda paused for a moment, letting her voice ring in the open morning air.

Then, with a sarcastic smile on her face, she explained the fun part. "You'll be sent there with only the uniforms on your shitty bodies right now! No access to 3DMG or any weapons!" Melda scanned the crowd with satisfaction, relishing in the worried expressions that popped up.

"However, the older members are allowed to use their 3DMGs and any kinds of traps to capture all you brats! Once you're captured, they'll tie you up and transport you to the prison zone where you'll wait until the end of the exercise."

By now, the trainees had mixed responses. Some were enthusiastic, while others were nervous. The rest were just tilting their heads and waiting for the actual moving to happen.

Melda clapped her hands in annoyance, shouting, "I'm not done yet! Your objective is to survive for those 48 hours that we send you out. On the clock, you'll hear a bell and when you do, get back to the safe house that we send you out from. As incentive, the first two groups to get captured will be punished, and the last one standing will have a free day and food privileges for a week!"

At those words, all of the students were pumped up. Melda smirked internally at their reaction and thought, _"Those greedy brats, only getting excited when there's a prize at the end."_

"There are rules to this, it's not a free-for-all." At that, some kids groaned. "First: no 3DMG or weapons, period. If you're caught in possession of one, your ass is disqualified immediately! The only way to engage a capturer is if you defeat them in hand-to-hand combat and they will be disqualified when you take the badge they're wearing as a necklace. They will go back to the safe zone to grab a new badge and enter your zone an hour later."

The exercise, to most of the trainees, sounded close to impossible. Although weapons wouldn't be allowed, the 3DMG gave the hunters a large movement advantage...

Melda's yell shut all the students up. "Will you listen quietly until the end, worthless shits?! Second rule! Only one hunter is allowed to attack a group of two trainees! If your group is bigger than two, do the math and deal with it."

The basic math problem made some nod in satisfaction. If a team had four members, the max amount of hunters they could encounter at once was 2, giving them a number advantage. However, the loner trainees now had huge grins on their faces. If they split up and only one capturer could attack two trainees, it meant that they could just separate from their group and survive the whole exercise.

"And now, third: If anyone tries to ditch their team and lone wolf this exercise out, they will be attacked by all the capturers at once. If you're caught like that, get ready to say goodbye to your dinner for a whole month. Trainees cannot attack each other. This is an exercise to help you at your shitty teamwork. If you suck at teamwork, get better at it, because once you graduate, you'll need to work in squads and _survive._"

Right after explaining the rules, Danika decided to take the lead and finish the lecture, "Alright, guys, now that you know the rules and the basics, head to the main building where you're going to get transported to the designated area by wagon."

The trainees were already discussing ideas on how to survive and weren't paying attention anymore, so Melda decided to break a couple eardrums and scare the shit out of others. "Get your asses into the wagons before I whip them in!"

Every trainee jumped up in fright. The black-haired instructor's roars could scare a grown man shitless.

With that, the 104th trainee squad organized itself and began the journey to the spot where their intelligence and strength would be tested.

* * *

**In this chapter, I planned to release a scene with one of the trainee groups pov in the start of this exercise, but unfortunately I couldn't make it in time.**

**That being said I promise you guys to release another chapter this week, to give those characthers some scenes (probably 2 or 3 groups), seeing that so far they didn't appeared as much as the main OCs.**

**Alright, crankiestnebula Q&A time!**

**1) So far, who's your favourite main character?**

**2) Would you like me to add the appearance details of the characters into the story guidebook?**

**Note: There are a lot of OC's in this story, 36 so far if I'm not mistaken, so I know that it's hard for you and even for me, some times, to keep a clear image of how each one of them looks like.**

**As always leave your thoughts on the reviews and let me know what you think about this Q&A thingy.**


	11. Training Camp - Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, 6th chapter here we go! I hope you enjoy :D**

**Well, I want to apologize for the delay, but both my beta reader and I have been struggling with school stuff, so that's why I'm only updating now.**

**Thanks for the ones who showed their opinion in the last Q&A thingy. I've noticed you guys have been quiet lately, I just hope that's a good sign.**

**To Cerily, Rage and all the others, I promise to show some more of the others chars as I get some ideas to make them fit into more scenes. This chapter is one example of tries to make it happen so hopefully it's well done.**

**Rage - yes, unfortunately there will be people dying... This is a SNK story so you guys could expect some deaths, soon :X**

**Alcark - I've read your application and I'll answer you through PM when I get some free time.**

**I also want to thank the ones who helped me this week: big thumbs up for Rage, Fairy and Shrapnel. Now without further ado, let's jam!**

* * *

**Surviving exercise – Part 1**

**Iosif's POV**

It was a long and hard journey. The wagons leading up to the hills were rickety and when we arrived, my bottom was aching from the bumps on the road. In front of me, a small wooden shed stood like a sentry. I presumed it was going to be the safe zone mentioned earlier.

The wind was blowing harder here than back at the training camp and I adjusted my button-up shirt and coat to stop myself from shivering. However, when I looked down the strong wind only got my hair into my eyes and I could barely see past the blonde fringe. When I looked back up, all I saw was gray, swirling clouds. It looked like it could rain any minute.

From the vantage point, I could see that on one side, there was a huge forest, with trees growing taller than where we were standing. _"That must be the famous Forest of Giant Trees."_ I thought, my eyes widening with amazement.

I shook myself though; I still needed to find my teammates.

Through the mass of trainees, it was easy to spot Alberto. He was, by far, the most tanned out of the entire squad and his light blue shirt stood out against the sea of browns and greens.

He was next to my other friend, Alina, a blonde girl sporting a short, wavy haircut. She was pretty easy to spot as well; no one really wore a hoodie under a coat because it would be too hot.

A smirk found itself on my face when I watched them interact.

Alberto was constantly flirting with the blondes of the squad and it was no exception now. However, unlike the shy and unable-to-refuse attitude of most of the students here, Alina would probably end up giving him a few friendly punches and a direct rejection.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder and I whirled around. But it wasn't anyone I hated, which was good.

It was just Kaspar, the last person of our group.

Although he was shorter than me, he was still one of the tallest trainees. His black hair matched with the cold and distant green eyes he had, but the red shirt underneath his jacket was pretty bright; I wasn't sure how I missed him before.

Despite his loner-like attitude and silent demeanor, I knew he wasn't a bad guy. I met him before I joined the training camp, but only for a few weeks, since I was once transferred to the same farm as he.

"We should probably get them and discuss some tactics, huh?" Once I said that, his expression went from somewhat amiable to bored.

Before he could speak, I commented again, "You might not be so good at plans, but it'd help the rest of the team." Inadvertently, my words turned out to be teasing. I couldn't help but do it; he was always so uptight and serious.

"Mm," he grunted, and I was temporarily confused, until he started walking towards the pair. I needed to learn how to read his minimal way of speaking; I honestly wasn't used to anyone not replying with words.

Just as we reached Alberto and Alina's sides, I heard a shout from Melda. "Listen up, lazy brats! Training exercise is starting now!"

Panic shot through my veins. It was clear everyone else was just a hint scared; the atmosphere was tenser than usual.

The black-haired instructor looked at her wrist to check her watch. "Well, better get on with it. You have 48 hours to survive. Your hour head start is running out."

And just like that, several groups sprinted off like fleeing squirrels. Some flocked to the forest, while others headed farther down the hills. But us? We hesitated, as if she had something else to say.

"Shoo! Get your asses moving cockroaches!"

I looked at my teammates, but seeing the blank expressions on their faces, decided to take the lead. I talked the most and kept them together, after all. "Let's go! Maybe we should start with gathering food...down there." The Forest of Giant Trees was right in front of us and Kaspar inclined his head slightly, hopefully to agree. Alberto and Alina both looked confused but nodded anyways and we trekked towards the looming forest.

* * *

Not even hours past, only minutes, and my limbs were starting to feel fatigued. My mouth was dry from the steady sunlight sizzling us and I wondered how Alina survived with that hoodie on.

However, we all pushed through and made it to the edge of the forest. If it weren't for the stressful situation, I would've said the trees were magnificent. They were nothing like I'd ever seen before.

They were probably 80 meters tall, and their branches were almost the width of my body. Not to mention, the trunks were gigantic; not even 8 of me hugging the tree would measure around them.

My decision wasn't the greatest. The branches and height of the trees made it easier for 3DMG users to move, which put us at a disadvantage.

"Maybe we should've gone away from the forest..." I pressed my lips together and spoke doubtfully.

However, Kaspar spoke words for the first time in a few hours. "There's a lot of wildlife here. Food."

In his hands, he had several berries and plants that were almost unrecognizable to me. Alina stared at the items in his hands, sparkles in her eyes.

"Whoa, never knew that was edible! Kaspar's pretty cool, huh?" She grinned and went on her way to find similar-looking plants to eat.

Just as I was about to compliment him, he dropped down into a kneeling position and gently shifted the berries into his breast pocket. When I leaned closer, I noticed rocks in his hands. He was rubbing the sides and turning them over repeatedly, examining them closely. Did he mean to start making tools? I wasn't sure and I didn't want to sound stupid so I just asked: "What're you doing?"

He didn't answer immediately. In the distance, I could hear Alberto and Alina muttering, discussing what plants to use.

But when he turned slightly, I saw the smirk on his face. It showed something like...satisfaction.

A sharp-looking rock was in his hands and the two finally came back, their arms laden with fruits. Alberto stopped and stared with confusion at Kaspar, who was still silent, before speaking up. "Oi...Kaspar...You planning on using that against the hunters? You know it's against the rules, right..?" Alina was nodding furiously, worry etched on her face.

However, my gut told me that wasn't it. He wasn't the type to be cruel or break rules.

The black-haired boy first answered with shaking his head, the smirk gone from his face. Then he faced us and replied, "Nah. Melda only said that we can't use weapons against the hunters, right? So, she's allowing us to make weapons to hunt for food."

The three of us exchanged impressed looks. Kaspar was actually really useful... Hunting animals was no easy feat, but with weapons, it would make the task more fun...but also easier. Before we could discuss, the guy decided to continue his explanation, showing us the stone he had caught. It really was sharp, but it was kind of jagged, not the smooth surface I was thinking it would be.

"This stone is good enough for a spearhead. We just need a firm stick and vine," he stated, turning back around again.

I tapped his shoulder and grinned, jerking him backwards slightly. "Nice! You're pretty useful out here, so don't look so glum." His serious expression was starting to bug me.

However, to my dissatisfaction, his face didn't change a bit. From behind us, Alina piped up, "Hey, this isn't the first time you've hunted, right, Kaspar?"

Kaspar shook his head with the same apathetic response, but his green eyes softened slightly with something I caught as sadness. "No. I had to do it before to survive," he muttered and as if it was only meant for me. Alina and Alberto exchanged glances and it didn't seem as if they heard his response. However, just by that, I knew her asking him triggered some unhappy memories.

Quickly, I grinned and tightened my grip on Kaspar, deciding to change the subject. "Guys, we should start moving again. I bet we only have a few minutes before the hunters start to chase us."

Everyone nodded and moved at a faster pace through the forest. Periodically, the black-haired male beside me would bend down to pick something up.

I was starting to get impatient, though. Nothing in the forest had any signs of a river. My tongue was starting to dry out and not a lot of saliva was left in my mouth.

"What branches are you going in?" Alberto, surprisingly, was the one to break the silence. He looked at Alina and she smiled slightly, something unknown passing between the two of them.

She answered, "Well, I'm going in the Scouting Legion, just like he is. I'm curious about you two, though..." Her reply was slightly hesitant for some reason, but her green eyes were hopeful. Kaspar sighed, probably in response to Alina's bright, hope-filled dreams.

"You two have guts, that's for sure. Seeing what happened in Shiganshina, anyway," he trailed off and was silent again, staring at the floor with an unreadable expression.

"I don't really know what branch I'm going in," a laugh bubbled out of my mouth and I could feel their surprised gazes on me. "But if there's something I really hate is that feeling of oppression. Feeling like a bird in a cage...except the Walls are just the cages. I'm fighting for freedom, and I guess that'll lead me to open my eyes on what Legion I'm joining."

However, Kaspar spoke up before anyone else, but he didn't look any of us in the eye. "I don't think I'd want to risk my life for others. I'm planning on getting into Top 10 to join the Military Police."

Despite his selfish words, we couldn't really insult him. Valuing our own lives was nothing to be ashamed of, because secretly, I was scared of death as well. Alina was definitely more affected by his words; she began lagging behind and in the twenty minutes we continued, we had to encourage her to keep going.

However, a dull whirring noise started to echo around us. Looking around, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, until Alina froze, the color in her face draining. Her hands started to shake and she tilted her head up to stare at us.

"G-guys...?! My...my foot's stuck!" She wailed out. From her loud voice, several birds fluttered out of the trees, cawing loudly.

All of us rushed by her to help, but then the sound of breaking branches made us look up to see a metal cage close. Jumping back, I was almost caught, but now, the only one separated was Alina.

Turns out, it was a hunting trap. She was desperately clinging to the side, shaking it, fear reflecting in her eyes.

Kaspar was the first to get up to examine the cage.

However, the grave expression on his face spoke of nothing but bad luck.

"Bad news. The cage...is stuck in the ground and has a key lock," he groaned quietly and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. We had no way to save her, and even she understood. Alina pressed her lips together into a pale line and I could see her throat gulping in anxiety.

Suddenly, the peace of the forest was broken by the sound of hooks and gas expulsion. A sound that was very familiar.

A 3DMG.

We all tensed up. "Damn!" I muttered. "Hunters are already here...!"

For a few seconds, all we could do was look around, but in the end, even Alina sighed and cried out, "Just go! Run! Win it for me, okay?! There's nothing you can do now..."

"Shit." I clenched my fists tightly, but with Kaspar pushing me, I couldn't resist. He leaned closer and whispered, "C'mon, let's move or we'll be next."

With that, the three of us decided to make a run for it. Regretfully, I abandoned Alina, my heart heavy.

I couldn't help but think, _"That's how this cruel world works..."_

* * *

**Asta's POV**

It was two hours into the survival exercise.

My teammates, Rosaline and Elisa, were still walking around a small tree-infested area a couple of meters away from the starting cabin.

The giant forest wasn't the best area to start off in, suggested by Rose, and neither I nor Elisa could disagree with her.

She looked like she knew what she was doing, so it couldn't hurt to follow her suggestions. I was, honestly, a terrible team player. Plans and strategizing was never my forte, so I trusted Rose to keep us on track.

Elisa didn't seem like the kind of person that was good in planning either.

At the first sound of Melda yelling start, the girl tried to run off into the most dangerous area and had to be held back by Rose. Admittedly, it was funny, but letting her go would've been the end for her.

However, now she was just a nuisance. She wouldn't stop blabbering about how awesome it would be to fight the hunters head-on.

She was more than reckless and more than a fool. But I couldn't help but admire how headstrong and adrenaline-pumped she was. Her instincts were probably good if she survived for this long with that attitude.

Thankfully, during the first hour, we were able to find a source of water that shielded us from dehydration. That was one check off the list. The smaller forest area had a lot less food than the Forest of Giant Trees, but there were still fruits aplenty. Just not that many animals.

Despite all our advantages, we were already attacked by a Garrison member. Luckily, it was just an old dude that underestimated us since we were all girls.

But he was damn wrong.

In the beginning, it was hard, since we needed to coordinate our moves. Several times, I had kicked Elisa instead of the guy and occasionally, I found my punches being deflected by Rose instead of hitting the guy. However, we managed to knock him down and now, the pin he had was stuck on Rose's jacket.

Now, we were just trying to find a good place to make camp. All of us were looking for a discreet area near the lake so we'd always have some source of nourishment.

* * *

Despite looking cloudy, the moisture of the forest made it rather hot and humid. When Melda said that it was going to be up in the hills, I thought it would've been cold, so I brought my favorite white jacket. However, I realized my prediction was really wrong. It was now tied around my waist, but sweat still dripped off my forehead.

Unconsciously, I heaved a sigh and from the corner of my eye, I noticed Elisa glance at me. The brunette opened her mouth and I could just sense the complaints pouring out of her mouth.

"Ugh, I told you we should've went into the forest. It's no fun here!"

Rosaline looked back at her with a motherly scolding look. That seemed like their relationship: Rose would've been the mother, while Elisa the rambunctious child. I was a little jealous, to say the least, since I didn't have anyone I could trust, unlike them.

"Elisa! I told you it's not a good idea...Forget about it! I-I mean...well...we're just trying to survive, not make a fight, okay?" At first, she was scolding her, but near the end, she began to stammer. Maybe she noticed her voice was starting to sound too bossy.

But the energy-filled brunette squirt only laughed. "C'mon, you know I love danger!" Her enthusiastic yell and the fist pump made Rose quickly shush her.

At least someone was having fun. I could feel a small smile spreading on my face just watching them.

As we continued to look out for places to rest in, I started to lag behind the two. Watching them interact from behind was a lot more entertaining than in the front, for some reason. However, I suddenly heard something out of the ordinary.

"Guys!" At my hiss, both of them looked at me. "I heard something. Get down!"

They both crouched in a hurry and we stayed quiet for a few moments. I turned out to be right.

The noise was out of the ordinary, because they were the sound of hooks.

Rosaline scooted towards me and said lowly, "Guess we have company. Gotta be careful, they might be in one of these trees."

Elisa, on the other hand, looked pumped up and ready to go. Her hazel eyes flared with joy, but before she could do anything more than squeak, the pink-haired girl grabbed her wrist and glared at her like before. The happiness in her eyes was snuffed out, but in a few seconds, the gleam came back, shinier than ever.

"You know...We can take this Garrison member by surprise," I started out. I looked at the other two's expressions and I felt...almost lighter, happier, when they both nodded.

"Well, since we have three members, the two of us could act as bait, while the other attacks the hunter from behind. That'll definitely give him a heart attack," Rose commented. Elisa and I looked at each other, blinking slowly.

Clearly, the pink-haired girl was a better strategist than we could ever be, so we just nodded. Where we lacked in intelligence and strategy, she made up with it, I guess. But she was probably the strongest out of all of us.

I replied, "So...Elisa and I will act as bait, then?"

The brunette opened her mouth, but closed it, surprisingly. It was clear she was itching to punch something, but I was mildly surprised she could handle herself.

We both stood up to start our plan, triumphant grins on our faces. Rosaline kept herself hidden, though, choosing to hide behind a clump of rocks.

Not long after, we heard the sound of abnormally rustling leaves and gas. They were coming.

Pretending like we didn't notice, I had my back towards the noise, but I felt a strong hit on my back that flung me down. A foot, maybe.

I winced, but there was no one disabling me, so I looked around, my other arm rubbing my back. To my side, a black-haired man with a Garrison outfit was tussling with Elisa. He was on top of her, a rope in his hands, as he tried to subdue the struggling brunette.

The man barked a sarcastic laugh as I struggled to regain my balance. "Hah, I knew it'd be easy to capture you girls! Stop biting back and stay still 'cause it's hopeless for you!"

The fact that we were targeted because we were girls made my blood boil. _"Just because we're girls?! I'll kick your ass!"_ I thought to myself. I could feel my senses coming back to me and by then, I'd be so ready for a fight.

"Shut up, you...caveman! I'll show you who's the weaker one!" Elisa spat out and suddenly, the man was having a harder time tying her down. The rope around one of her wrists slipped away and he was starting to sweat slightly.

However, my vision blurred slightly and I realized I wasn't even close to recovering from that last kick. The leverage that the 3DMG gave to the man, made his kick a lot stronger and the aching in my back didn't help.

But before I could even react, a blur tackled the Garrison member. Rosaline's face was what scared me the most though.

Her normal, gentle, green eyes were now flaring with animalistic rage. The fact that a simple thing like pushing down her friend could generate this kind of anger made me tremble slightly. She looked like a fierce bear, claws and teeth and all.

The Garrison member was so startled, he went limp. Without a single ounce of hesitation, Rose's right arm smashed into the man's head.

"Aaargh!"

His screams echoed around the forest as she continued to punch his face. She only stopped when Elisa grabbed her arm, stopping the assault. Even the brunette was scared of the ferocity of her pink-haired friend.

I could only watch as Rosaline rolled off the man with a petite cough. Disgust and contempt was clear on her face, though, and I couldn't help but feel the same way for the man that was almost knocked unconscious.

He had a broken nose, blood leaking out of his nostril, and a black eye was already forming, along with a couple of bruises on the side of his face.

"You probably went too far with this, eh?" I commented as I strolled towards them, my back still throbbing with pain.

However, I didn't stop Elisa from kicking the guy's leg. "Beaten by three girls, smarts and strength...Who's the weaker one now?"

She made me laugh. He deserved all of that, honestly, after his badmouthing.

I crouched down next to the guy. From his swelling eye, he glared at me, but I just smirked, leaning over to rip off the necklace around his neck. Then, with a scoff, I dropped it into my breastpocket.

Then, for good measure, I knocked him unconscious with a swift kick to the head, ignoring the sudden concern for the man on Rosaline's part.

"So he won't come back for us anytime soon. He probably won't be participating anymore," I couldn't help the satisfied tone in my voice when I spoke.

Elisa grinned widely. "That was a hell of a plan, you know."

Rose nodded and I just shrugged. The gaze of the brunette was drilling a hole into me and I shifted slightly.

"We're pretty good as a team, huh?"

She was trying to make friends...So I just nodded. It was fun, that was for sure. Being all girls meant that people went easier on us, but I knew that that wouldn't be the case outside of camp. Titans...Titans didn't care whether or not you were a man or a woman, girl or boy... However, Elisa wasn't done because she was still drilling holes into my body with her eyes.

She raised her eyebrow and continued, "I still don't know why you'd want to join the Military Police...You've got skill...and you should come with us! To the Scouting Legion!"

That straightforwardness almost made me choke.

Sighing, I replied, "I'm not like you guys. I'm a combination of shitty strength and no intelligence. What sets me apart from you guys even more is that I don't have a death wish. I'd rather live my life peacefully inside Sina, rather than in a titan's belly as a piece of meat."

But, at the same time, I didn't even believe what was coming out of my mouth. It just sounded like I was bluffing up, trying to live as long as I possibly could. I knew I was strong, maybe even stronger in terms of brute force than Elisa, and mentally prepared, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. The pressure of seeing a Titan up close...Just imagining it was enough for me.

Elisa just rolled her eyes, though. Before she could reply to me, Rosaline poked her side with an angry pout, and the brunette closed her mouth.

However, as I walked in front of them, my hand drifted to my chest.

My heart was...warm. It was a while since I felt that.

She liked me being there. Elisa did. She said _we worked well as a team..._

* * *

After a while, we were just aimlessly wandering, and the warmth in my heart slowly ebbed away. The sky was turning a darker gray, signaling that time was running out 'til nighttime, or that a storm was coming. To answer my thoughts, a loud noise echoed through the small forest and we all jumped up.

It sounded like thunder...

"W-what the heck...?" Elisa sounded awestruck.

"That's...smoke, right?" Rosaline sounded as surprised as her friend as she pointed towards the Forest of Giant Trees.

I squinted and looked at where she was pointing. "Shit, yeah, you're right...Something's on fire! Maybe the thunder caused it?"

Silence fell over us. Rosaline seemed to be lost in thought while Elisa was fidgeting from side-to-side, the pinched expression on her face only signaling that she was ready to start sprinting towards that fire, anything that would prove to be entertaining.

But just like the brunette, I couldn't help but want something more exciting. Without waiting for Rose's perfect plan, I started running towards the Forest, shouting behind me, "I'm going ahead! Meet me over there, okay?"

I didn't dare look back.

Until I heard a shout. "Oi! Asta! Wait up! We're coming!"

A smile spread on my face as I slowed down. Something crashed into me and an excitedly grinning face was all I saw, but that was Elisa. Then, from next to me, Rosaline placed a hand on my shoulder with a soft smile.

_"This...this is warmth. This is friendship, huh?"_ I thought to myself. I couldn't help but smile along with them as well. Even through the tension of the exercise and the prospect of a forest fire.

With that, we made our way towards the Forest of Giant Trees without an ounce of apprehension.

* * *

******A/N:** Q&A time!

**1) So far, what's your favorite chapter and scene?  
**


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